n.
Pronunciation: ' prä-f ə t
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin profectus advance, profit, from proficere
Date: 14th century
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
– prof · it · less \ -l ə s \ adjective
– prof · it · wise \ - ˌ w ī z \ adverb