INDEX:
1. money that you make by doing business
2. a profit from leaving money in the bank or lending it to a company
3. to get a profit
4. to not make a profit
5. when a business produces a profit
6. to not make a profit
7. to make a profit in an unfair way
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ MONEY
↑ EARN
↑ PAY
↑ SELL
↑ BUSINESS
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1. money that you make by doing business
▷ profit /ˈprɒfɪt, ˈprɒfətǁˈprɑː-/ [countable/uncountable noun]
money that you make by doing business, for example when you sell something for more that it cost you to buy it or to produce it :
▪ We aim to increase our profits by at least 5% every year.
▪ For the first time, the company’s annual profits were over $1 million.
▪ They don’t care who they sell weapons to. All they are interested in is profit.
make a profit
▪ They made a huge profit when they sold the business.
▷ proceeds /ˈprəʊsiːdz/ [plural noun]
all the money that you get from selling something, or from something such as a show or a sports event :
▪ His first year in business was so successful that John could afford to buy a delivery van with the proceeds.
▪ The proceeds of the sale of the house went to an animal-welfare charity, as stated in the owner’s will.
▷ surplus /ˈsɜːʳpləs/ [countable noun]
the amount of money that remains after a company or organization has paid all its costs, charges, wages etc :
▪ Our surplus on book publishing last year was $47 million.
▪ For the first time in 20 years Congress was working with a budget surplus.
▷ gain /geɪn/ [uncountable noun]
the profit that someone makes - use this especially when you think that the person or company making the profit is only interested in getting money or an advantage for themselves :
for gain
in order to make a profit
▪ If private hospitals are operating purely for gain, how can we be sure they have the patients’ best interests at heart?
short-term gain
a situation in which profits may be made for a short time, but which may cause losses and problems in the future
▪ Companies just don’t invest enough -- short-term gain is all they think about.
2. a profit from leaving money in the bank or lending it to a company
▷ interest /ˈɪntrɪst, ˈɪntrəst/ [uncountable noun]
an amount of profit that you make at an agreed rate when you put money into a bank or similar institution :
▪ If you had half a million dollars you could easily live off the interest.
▪ John had put his grandfather’s money in the bank, and was getting $400 a month in interest.
rate of interest
the agreed amount paid as interest
▪ The best rate of interest the banks can offer is around 14 per cent.
high/low interest
▪ a high interest savings account
▷ return /rɪˈtɜːʳn/ [countable noun]
the total profit that you get as a result of putting money into a bank, company etc - used especially in business :
▪ The company offers the hope of big returns for people who buy its shares.
return on an investment
▪ The return on the initial investment was huge.
▷ yield /jiːld/ [countable noun]
the exact amount of profit that you get as a result of lending money to a company, government etc - used especially in business :
▪ We have calculated the probable yield from this investment at around 17%.
▪ If you invest the money now, the yield after only twelve months will be $3160.
3. to get a profit
▷ make /meɪk/ [transitive verb]
to get a profit, especially from business deals :
make £1 million/$10,000 etc
▪ British Telecom made over $3 billion last year.
make money
▪ The restaurant makes a lot of money in the summer.
make money doing something
▪ You could make a lot of money selling your photographs, they’re excellent.
make millions/make a fortune
▪ Mandon, our richest cousin, had made a fortune in the cable TV business.
make out of
▪ The entrepreneur boasted that he could make money out of anything, even pebbles in the beach.
▷ make a profit /ˌmeɪk ə ˈprɒfə̇tǁ-ˈprɑː-/ [verb phrase]
to get a profit from a business or from selling something :
▪ Harry made a good profit - he bought the house for £45,000 and sold it for £55,000 six months later.
▪ When you consider how much this meal would cost to prepare at home, you realize that the restaurant must be making an enormous profit.
make a profit of $53m/£600 etc
▪ The drug company Sasco made a profit of $53 million last year.
make a profit on
▪ Even though the price has been reduced, the builders will still make a profit on the sale.
▷ earn /ɜːʳn/ [transitive verb]
to make a profit from business or from putting money in a bank, lending it to a company etc :
▪ The Washington Post Company earned $187 million in 1987.
▪ Our finances look better if we include the profit earned on the sale of our London offices.
▪ She decided to put the money in a high-earning investment account.
▷ make a killing /ˌmeɪk ə ˈkɪlɪŋ/ [verb phrase] informal
to get a very large profit quickly from one successful business deal :
▪ He had made a killing on the stock exchange that morning.
▪ Vito’s a debonair middle-aged New Yorker, who’s made a killing in advertising.
4. to not make a profit
▷ unprofitable /ʌnˈprɒfɪtəb ə l, ʌnˈprɒfətəb ə lǁ-ˈprɑː-/ [adjective]
an unprofitable business or activity does not make a profit and is likely to have debts :
▪ The company says that the publishing side of its division is unprofitable and must be closed down.
▪ Unprofitable flight routes have been axed as recession hits the aviation industry.
▪ The bank isn’t likely to lend money to an unprofitable business like yours.
▷ uneconomic /ˌʌniːkəˈnɒmɪk, ˌʌnekə-ǁ-ˈnɑː-/ [adjective]
not making enough profits to be successful or to successfully compete with other companies, industries etc - use this especially when this is a reason for closing the company, industry etc :
▪ Most of the old nationalized industries were labelled ‘uneconomic’ and sold off to private companies.
▪ Workers in uneconomic areas of the economy fought hard to keep their factories and mines open.
5. when a business produces a profit
▷ profitable /ˈprɒfɪtəb ə l, ˈprɒfətəb ə lǁˈprɑː-/ [adjective]
a profitable business or activity makes a profit :
▪ We don’t sell children’s clothes any more - it wasn’t profitable enough.
▪ It’s only in the last year that our business has become profitable. Before that we were just managing to cover our costs.
▷ lucrative /ˈluːkrətɪv/ [adjective]
a type of business or activity that is lucrative produces a very large profit :
▪ Catering is a very lucrative business if you succeed in it.
▪ Sam’s journalistic work was much more lucrative than his painting had ever been.
▪ There is still an illegal but lucrative trade in ivory between Africa and South-East Asia.
▷ money-spinner /ˈmʌni ˌspɪnəʳ/ [countable noun] British informal
a business or product that produces a large profit :
▪ The little bar turned out to be a real moneyspinner.
▪ The toy companies are always trying to find another money-spinner like Monopoly or the Barbie doll.
▷ goldmine /ˈgəʊldmaɪn/ [countable noun usually singular] informal
a small business, especially a shop or restaurant, that produces a very large profit :
▪ It’s just a scruffy little beach café, but in summer it’s an absolute goldmine.
▪ I bet that corner shop’s a goldmine.
6. to not make a profit
▷ break even /ˌbreɪk ˈiːv ə n/ [verb phrase]
▪ The company made a small loss last year but this year has managed to break even.
▪ We’ll be just breaking even if we can get an average audience of 300.
▷ non-profitmaking /nɒn ˈprɒfə̇tmeɪkɪŋǁnɑːn ˈprɑː-/ [adjective] British
a company or business that is non-profitmaking does business so that its profits are used to provide money for hospitals, poor people etc :
▪ Traidcraft is a non-profitmaking organization that buys goods from Indian workers at fair prices.
7. to make a profit in an unfair way
▷ cash in on /ˌkæʃ ˈɪn ɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to make a profit from a situation in a way that is wrong or unfair :
▪ He’s just cashing in on the fact that his wife is famous.
▪ Have you noticed how the record companies cash in on the death of famous pop stars by re-releasing all their old records?
▷ profit from /ˈprɒfɪt frɒm, ˈprɒfət frɒmǁˈprɑː-/ [verb phrase]
to make a profit from a bad situation, instead of trying to help people :
▪ Nobody should be allowed to profit from war and human suffering.
▪ Crafty entrepreneurs like Harper profited from the ignorance of the masses.
▷ profiteering /ˌprɒfɪˈtɪ ə rɪŋ, ˌprɒfəˈtɪ ə rɪŋǁˌprɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
when someone makes large profits from a bad situation by charging extremely high prices for things that people need to buy :
▪ The emergency government brought in a special law to prevent hoarding and profiteering.
▪ As food supplies dwindled, complaints against profiteering became more vociferous.
▷ exploit /ɪkˈsloɔɪt/ [transitive verb]
to make an unfair profit out of someone who is in a weaker position than yourself or who seriously needs the things you can sell them, do for them etc :
▪ Measure are being taken to stop employment agencies exploiting foreign workers desperate to find a job.
▪ Many ‘New Age’ therapists simply exploit the hopes and fears of sick people who would be better off going to their own doctor.
▪ loan sharks who exploit the poor by charging up to 1000% interest per year.