profit

 
Pronunciation: /ˈprɒfɪt/

noun

  • 1a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something: record pre-tax profits [mass noun]: his eyes brightened at the prospect of profit
  • 2 [mass noun] advantage; benefit: there’s no profit in screaming at referees from the bench

verb (profits, profiting, profited)

[no object]
  • obtain a financial advantage or benefit: the only people to profit from the episode were the lawyers
  • obtain an advantage or benefit: not all children would profit from this kind of schooling
  • [with object] be beneficial to: it would profit us to change our plans

Phrases

at a profit

making more money than is spent buying, operating, or producing something: doing up houses and selling them at a profit

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'advantage, benefit'): from Old French, from Latin profectus 'progress, profit', from proficere 'to advance', from pro- 'on behalf of' + facere 'do'. The verb is from Old French profiter

Spelling rule

Do not double the final consonant when adding endings which begin with a vowel to a word which ends in a vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is not at the end of the word (as in target): (profits, profiting, profited).