profit

1 of 2

noun

prof·​it ˈprä-fət How to pronounce profit (audio)
often attributive
1
: a valuable return : gain
2
: the excess of returns over expenditure in a transaction or series of transactions
especially : the excess of the selling price of goods over their cost
3
: net income usually for a given period of time
4
: the ratio of profit for a given year to the amount of capital invested or to the value of sales
5
: the compensation accruing to entrepreneurs for the assumption of risk in business enterprise as distinguished from wages or rent
profitless adjective
profitwise adverb

profit

2 of 2

verb

profited; profiting; profits

intransitive verb

1
: to be of service or advantage : avail
2
: to derive benefit : gain
3
: to make a profit

transitive verb

: to be of service to : benefit

Examples of profit in a Sentence

Noun The company made a profit this year. Profits are up from last year. There was a rise in profits this year. The profits from CD sales were donated to charity. The organization is not run for profit. The film made $1,000,000 in profit. The book can be read with profit by anyone who wants to understand how the system works. Verb It would profit him to take some computer classes. The company has profited by selling its products online. He profited greatly from his investments. The island profits from tourism.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Companies are allowed to report the options’ lower value on investor reports (thus making profits look higher) while reporting their higher value for income-tax purposes (thus making profits, and by extension taxes, lower). Byirina Ivanova, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 Editors’ Picks Republicans have failed to show that Mr. Biden received any profit, and so far have only pointed to his son and brother paying him back for a few no-interest loans. Peter Baker, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Family Dollar will spend more than $594 million closing or rebranding stores, essentially erasing profits from the holiday season. Michelle Chapman, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 Other women in various irrigation groups report using profits for expenses such as their children’s education. Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2024 The bet paid off handsomely: By selling high and buying low, the Biden administration’s oil trade netted a $66 million profit. Mary Hui, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 The oil and gas companies are making record profits, and not enough of that goes back into this effort. Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 After being hailed for revolutionizing television and pumping out content as if there was no tomorrow, streaming sites also are losing subscribers and being pressured by Wall Street to turn a profit as soon as possible, not somewhere down the road. Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 Egyptian officials, Hassanein alleges, profit from the wartime fees Gazans are paying to cross the border. Daniel Estrin, NPR, 2 Mar. 2024
Verb
Fundraising for the latest effort could easily wipe away that debt and reap a hefty sum for organizers who profited nicely from the last go-round. Mark Z. Barabak, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 Everyone including the grocery store, your apps and the manufacturer of your car are gobbling information to profit from details of your life. Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Service Member Dies After Setting Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy Provocative news stories always bring out the crazy, as people cope with difficult reality by writing more comforting fiction and opportunistic figures try to profit from that need for answers. Talia Jane, Rolling Stone, 29 Feb. 2024 Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have profited handsomely from their involvement and forecast making billions from their drugs for years to come. Robert Hart, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Last year, the United States began sanctioning a handful of Sudanese officials and companies profiting from violence. John Prendergast, Foreign Affairs, 27 Feb. 2024 But that doesn’t mean those who led the way greatly profited over the years ahead. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2024 Merchant has alleged that Willis personally profited from the case, paying Wade more than $650,000 for his work and then benefiting when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations the pair took together. Kate Brumback, arkansasonline.com, 17 Feb. 2024 Some are trafficked by strangers, but most know the person who is profiting off their bodies. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'profit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin profectus advance, profit, from proficere

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of profit was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near profit

Cite this Entry

“Profit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profit. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

profit

1 of 2 noun
prof·​it ˈpräf-ət How to pronounce profit (audio)
1
: the gain or benefit from something
2
: the gain after all the expenses are subtracted from the amount received
profitless adjective

profit

2 of 2 verb
1
: to get some good out of something : gain
profit by experience
2
: to be of use to (someone) : benefit
an agreement that profited us all

Legal Definition

profit

noun
prof·​it
1
: gain in excess of expenditures: as
a
: the excess of the selling price of goods over their cost
b
: net income from a business, investment, or capital appreciation compare earnings, loss
2
: a benefit or advantage from the use of property

More from Merriam-Webster on profit

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