- [countable, uncountable] the money that you make in business or by selling things, especially after paying the costs involved
- annual/pre-tax/corporate profits
- Profits before tax grew from £615m to £1 168m.
- a rise/an increase/a jump/a drop/a fall in profits
- to maximize/increase profits
- to report/post profits of £50 million
- The club may turn a profit (= make a profit) by the end of the year.
- The sale generated record profits.
- Net profit (= after you have paid costs and tax) was up 16.1 per cent.
- The business recorded a gross profit of (= before you pay costs and tax) £1.45 million last year.
- The division's profit margins are being squeezed.
- The directors are driven only by the profit motive.
- profit on something The company made a healthy profit on the deal.
- profit from something Profit from exports rose 7.7 per cent.
- The radio station earns a profit from its advertising.
- profit in something There was little or no profit in the products themselves.
- profit in doing something There isn’t much profit in running a restaurant these days.
- at a profit We should be able to sell the house at a huge profit.
- for profit The agency is voluntary and not run for profit.
Homophones profit | prophetprofit prophet/ˈprɒfɪt//ˈprɑːfɪt/- profit noun
- She's only interested in making a quick profit.
- profit verb
- Patents allowed inventors to profit from ownership of their inventions.
- prophet noun
- With his long white beard, he looks like an Old Testament prophet.
Collocations BusinessBusinessRunning a business- buy/acquire/own/sell a company/firm/franchise
- set up/establish/start/start up/launch a business/company
- run/operate a business/company/franchise
- head/run a firm/department/team
- make/secure/win/block a deal
- expand/grow/build the business
- boost/increase investment/spending/sales/turnover/earnings/exports/trade
- increase/expand production/output/sales
- boost/maximize production/productivity/efficiency/income/revenue/profit/profitability
- achieve/maintain/sustain growth/profitability
- cut/reduce/bring down/lower/slash costs/prices
- announce/impose/make cuts/cutbacks
- break into/enter/capture/dominate the market
- gain/grab/take/win/boost/lose market share
- find/build/create a market for something
- start/launch an advertising/a marketing campaign
- develop/launch/promote a product/website
- create/generate demand for your product
- attract/get/retain/help customers/clients
- drive/generate/boost/increase demand/sales
- beat/keep ahead of/out-think/outperform the competition
- meet/reach/exceed/miss sales targets
- draw up/set/present/agree/approve a budget
- keep to/balance/cut/reduce/slash the budget
- be/come in below/under/over/within budget
- generate income/revenue/profit/funds/business
- fund/finance a campaign/a venture/an expansion/spending/a deficit
- provide/raise/allocate capital/funds
- attract/encourage investment/investors
- recover/recoup costs/losses/an investment
- get/obtain/offer somebody/grant somebody credit/a loan
- apply for/raise/secure/arrange/provide finance
- lose business/trade/customers/sales/revenue
- accumulate/accrue/incur/run up debts
- suffer/sustain enormous/heavy/serious losses
- face cuts/a deficit/redundancy/bankruptcy
- file for/ (North American English) enter/avoid/escape bankruptcy
- (British English) go into administration/liquidation
- liquidate/wind up a company
- survive/weather a recession/downturn
- propose/seek/block/oppose a merger
- launch/make/accept/defeat a takeover bid
Extra ExamplesTopics Businessb1- At whose expense are those obscene profits made?
- Damaged goods mean lost profit.
- He's only interested in making a quick profit.
- Investors will take the profits.
- Jakob had realized a personal profit of $240 000.
- Profits surged 41 per cent to £13 million.
- The company started to show a profit in its first year.
- The expected profits have not materialized.
- The goods were sold for profit.
- They closed down after years of low profits.
- a commodity that produced steady profits
- an annual profit of £50 000
- We are continuing our strategy of profit maximization.
- The company posted second-quarter profits of $570 million.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- considerable
- decent
- …
- bring
- bring in
- deliver
- …
- climb
- grow
- increase
- …
- margin
- rate
- sharing
- …
- against profits
- at a profit
- for profit
- …
- a decline in profits
- a fall in profits
- an increase in profits
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [uncountable] (formal) the advantage that you get from doing something
- Future lawyers could study this text with profit.
Word OriginMiddle 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.
Check pronunciation:
profit