benefit
♦♦ ben|efit /b'enɪfɪt/ (benefits benefiting or benefitting benefited or benefitted)
1 [N-VAR] oft N of n
The benefit of something is the help that you get from it or the advantage that results from it.
Each family farms individually and reaps the benefit of its labor...
I'm a great believer in the benefits of this form of therapy...
For maximum benefit, use your treatment every day.
= advantage, profit
2 [N-UNCOUNT] oft with poss, of N to n
If something is to your benefit or is of benefit to you, it helps you or improves your life.
This could now work to Albania's benefit...
I hope what I have written will be of benefit to someone else who may feel the same way.
= advantage
3 [VERB] V from n, V n, also V
If you benefit from something or if it benefits you, it helps you or improves your life.
Both sides have benefited from the talks.
...a variety of government programs benefiting children.
= profit
4 [N-UNCOUNT] N of n
If you have the benefit of some information, knowledge, or equipment, you are able to use it so that you can achieve something.
Steve didn't have the benefit of a formal college education...
= advantage
5 [N-VAR] oft on N
Benefit is money that is given by the government to people who are poor, ill, or unemployed.
...the removal of benefit from school-leavers...
6 [N-COUNT] oft N n
A benefit, or a benefit concert or dinner, is an event that is held in order to raise money for a particular charity or person.
I am organising a benefit gig in Bristol to raise these funds.
7
see also fringe benefit, unemployment benefit
8 [PHRASE] usu PHR after v
If you give someone the benefit of the doubt, you treat them as if they are telling the truth or as if they have behaved properly, even though you are not sure that this is the case.
At first I gave him the benefit of the doubt...
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you say that someone is doing something for the benefit of a particular person, you mean that they are doing it for that person.
You need people working for the benefit of the community...child ben|efit
[N-UNCOUNT]
In Britain, child benefit is an amount of money paid weekly by the state to families for each of their children.fringe ben|efit (fringe benefits)
1 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Fringe benefits are extra things that some people get from their job in addition to their salary, for example a car. (BUSINESS)
2 [N-COUNT] oft N of -ing/n
The fringe benefits of doing something are the extra advantages which you get from it, although you may not have expected them and they were not the main reason for doing it.
His support was one of the nicest fringe benefits of pursuing this research.
= bonushous|ing ben|efit (housing benefits)
[N-UNCOUNT] also N in pl
In Britain, housing benefit is money that the government gives to people with no income or very low incomes to pay for part or all of their rent.sick|ness ben|efit
[N-UNCOUNT]
Sickness benefit is money that you receive regularly from the government when you are unable to work because of illness. (BRIT)un|em|ploy|ment ben|efit (unemployment benefits)
[N-UNCOUNT] also N in pl
Unemployment benefit is money that some people receive from the state when they do not have a job and are unable to find one.
In 1986 more than three million were receiving unemployment benefit...
1 [N-VAR] oft N of n
The benefit of something is the help that you get from it or the advantage that results from it.
Each family farms individually and reaps the benefit of its labor...
I'm a great believer in the benefits of this form of therapy...
For maximum benefit, use your treatment every day.
= advantage, profit
2 [N-UNCOUNT] oft with poss, of N to n
If something is to your benefit or is of benefit to you, it helps you or improves your life.
This could now work to Albania's benefit...
I hope what I have written will be of benefit to someone else who may feel the same way.
= advantage
3 [VERB] V from n, V n, also V
If you benefit from something or if it benefits you, it helps you or improves your life.
Both sides have benefited from the talks.
...a variety of government programs benefiting children.
= profit
4 [N-UNCOUNT] N of n
If you have the benefit of some information, knowledge, or equipment, you are able to use it so that you can achieve something.
Steve didn't have the benefit of a formal college education...
= advantage
5 [N-VAR] oft on N
Benefit is money that is given by the government to people who are poor, ill, or unemployed.
...the removal of benefit from school-leavers...
6 [N-COUNT] oft N n
A benefit, or a benefit concert or dinner, is an event that is held in order to raise money for a particular charity or person.
I am organising a benefit gig in Bristol to raise these funds.
7
see also fringe benefit, unemployment benefit
8 [PHRASE] usu PHR after v
If you give someone the benefit of the doubt, you treat them as if they are telling the truth or as if they have behaved properly, even though you are not sure that this is the case.
At first I gave him the benefit of the doubt...
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you say that someone is doing something for the benefit of a particular person, you mean that they are doing it for that person.
You need people working for the benefit of the community...child ben|efit
[N-UNCOUNT]
In Britain, child benefit is an amount of money paid weekly by the state to families for each of their children.fringe ben|efit (fringe benefits)
1 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Fringe benefits are extra things that some people get from their job in addition to their salary, for example a car. (BUSINESS)
2 [N-COUNT] oft N of -ing/n
The fringe benefits of doing something are the extra advantages which you get from it, although you may not have expected them and they were not the main reason for doing it.
His support was one of the nicest fringe benefits of pursuing this research.
= bonushous|ing ben|efit (housing benefits)
[N-UNCOUNT] also N in pl
In Britain, housing benefit is money that the government gives to people with no income or very low incomes to pay for part or all of their rent.sick|ness ben|efit
[N-UNCOUNT]
Sickness benefit is money that you receive regularly from the government when you are unable to work because of illness. (BRIT)un|em|ploy|ment ben|efit (unemployment benefits)
[N-UNCOUNT] also N in pl
Unemployment benefit is money that some people receive from the state when they do not have a job and are unable to find one.
In 1986 more than three million were receiving unemployment benefit...