benefit (benefits plural & 3rd person present) (benefiting present participle) (benefitting present participle) (benefited past tense & past participle) (benefitted past tense & past participle )
1 n-var The benefitof something is the help that you get from it or the advantage that results from it.
oft N of n
(=advantage, profit)
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.
2 n-uncount If something is to your benefit or is ofbenefitto you, it helps you or improves your life.
oft with poss, of N to n
(=advantage)
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.
3 verb If you benefitfrom something or if it benefits you, it helps you or improves your life.
(=profit)
Both sides have benefited from the talks. V from n
...a variety of government programs benefiting children. V n, Also V
4 n-uncount If you have the benefit of some information, knowledge, or equipment, you are able to use it so that you can achieve something.
N of n
(=advantage)
Steve didn't have the benefit of a formal college education...
5 n-var Benefit is money that is given by the government to people who are poor, ill, or unemployed.
oft on N
...the removal of benefit from school-leavers...
6 n-count 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.
oft N n
I am organising a benefit gig in Bristol to raise these funds.
7
→
fringe benefit
→
unemployment benefit
8 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.
(give sb )the benefit of the doubt phrase usu PHR after v
At first I gave him the benefit of the doubt...
9 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.
for the benefit of sb phrase PHR after v You need people working for the benefit of the community...
child benefit
In Britain, child benefit is an amount of money paid weekly by the state to families for each of their children. n-uncount
fringe benefit (fringe benefits plural )
1 n-count Fringe benefits are extra things that some people get from their job in addition to their salary, for example a car. (BUSINESS) usu pl
2 n-count 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.
oft N of -ing/n
(=bonus)
His support was one of the nicest fringe benefits of pursuing this research.
housing benefit (housing benefits plural )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. n-uncount also N in pl
sickness benefit
Sickness benefit is money that you receive regularly from the government when you are unable to work because of illness.
(BRIT) n-uncount
unemployment benefit (unemployment benefits plural )Unemployment benefit is money that some people receive from the state when they do not have a job and are unable to find one. n-uncount also N in pl
In 1986 more than three million were receiving unemployment benefit...
