profit
verb/ˈprɒfɪt/
/ˈprɑːfɪt/
[intransitive, transitive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they profit | /ˈprɒfɪt/ /ˈprɑːfɪt/ |
| he / she / it profits | /ˈprɒfɪts/ /ˈprɑːfɪts/ |
| past simple profited | /ˈprɒfɪtɪd/ /ˈprɑːfɪtɪd/ |
| past participle profited | /ˈprɒfɪtɪd/ /ˈprɑːfɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form profiting | /ˈprɒfɪtɪŋ/ /ˈprɑːfɪtɪŋ/ |
- to get something useful from a situation; to be useful to somebody or give them an advantage
- profit (from something) Farmers are profiting from the new legislation.
- profit (by something) We tried to profit by our mistakes (= learn from them).
- profit somebody Many local people believe the development will profit them.
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.
Extra ExamplesTopics Businessb1- A few greedy companies are profiting hugely at the expense of the most vulnerable consumers.
- Convicted criminals should not be allowed to profit from their crimes.
- The private sector will profit by selling the surplus electricity abroad.
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.Want to learn more?
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