profit

B1 Topic:Economics & Markets

US /ˈpɹɑfɪt/ UK /ˈpɹɒfɪt/ See IPA manual

Homophones

prophet /ˈpɹɑ.fɪt/

Freq #3842

Meanings

1

noun
The money you gain after subtracting your costs, especially in business.

The company made a large profit last year.
2

verb
To gain an advantage or benefit from something.

She profited from her years of experience abroad.
3

noun
A useful advantage or benefit gained from something.

Reading widely was of great profit to his studies.
4

verb
To make money from a business activity.

They hope to profit from the new product line.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the money you gain after... net

2 verb · to gain an advantage or... gain

3 noun · a useful advantage or... gain

4 verb · to make money from a... turn a profit

Opposites

loss

Word family

Forms profitedprofitingprofitlessprofits

Derived forms disprofitfor-profitmegaprofitnon-profitnon-profit-makingnonprofitnonprofitingnot-for-profitprofit-takingprofitable profitably profiteer

Related forms proficiency proficient

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

windfall profit
an unexpected financial gain caused by circumstances outside normal business activity

Noun + noun

Proverbs (2)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English profit, from Old French profit (Modern French profit), from Latin prōfectus (“advance, progress, growth, increase, profit”), from proficiō (“to go forward, advance, make progress, be profitable or useful”). Doublet of profect.

*per- Proto-Indo-European profit Middle English prōfectus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Economics & Markets Business & Commerce

External links

# profit

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɹɑfɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɹɒfɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 3842

## Meanings
1. The money you gain after subtracting your costs, especially in business.
2. To gain an advantage or benefit from something.
3. A useful advantage or benefit gained from something.
4. To make money from a business activity.

## Examples
- The company made a large profit last year.
- She profited from her years of experience abroad.
- Reading widely was of great profit to his studies.
- They hope to profit from the new product line.

## Synonyms
- gain

## Antonyms
- loss

## Derived Forms
- disprofit
- for-profit
- megaprofit
- non-profit
- non-profit-making
- nonprofit
- nonprofiting
- not-for-profit
- profit-taking
- profitable
- profitably
- profiteer

## Related Forms
- proficiency
- proficient

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *per-
- Root: profit
- Root: prōfectus

## Etymology
From Middle English profit, from Old French profit (Modern French profit), from Latin prōfectus (“advance, progress, growth, increase, profit”), from proficiō (“to go forward, advance, make progress, be profitable or useful”). Doublet of profect.

## AI Etymology
Profit comes from Middle English profit, from Old French profit (Modern French profit), from Latin prōfectus (“advance, progress, growth, increase, profit”), from proficiō (“to go forward, advance, make progress, be profitable or useful”). Doublet of profect. In present-day English it covers the money you gain after subtracting your costs, especially in business, to gain an advantage or benefit from something, and a useful advantage or benefit gained from something. The wider family includes derived forms such as disprofit, for-profit, megaprofit, non-profit, non-profit-making and related forms such as proficiency, proficient.

## Topics
- Economics & Markets
- Business & Commerce

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