I. ben ‧ e ‧ fit 1 S2 W1 AC /ˈbenəfɪt, ˈbenɪfɪt/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ benefit , ↑ beneficiary ; verb : ↑ benefit ; adverb : ↑ beneficially ; adjective : ↑ beneficial ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Anglo-French ; Origin: ben fet , from Latin bene factum , from bene factus ; ⇨ ↑ benefaction ]
1 . ADVANTAGE [uncountable and countable] an advantage, improvement, or help that you get from something ⇨ beneficial
benefit of
the benefits of contact lenses
I never had the benefit of a university education.
The new credit cards will be of great benefit to our customers.
I hope that the decision taken today will be to the benefit of the whole nation.
for sb’s benefit
Could you just explain again for Mark’s benefit?
without the benefit of something
Most motorists manage without the benefit of four-wheel drive.
2 . MONEY FROM GOVERNMENT [uncountable and countable] British English money provided by the government to people who are sick, unemployed, or have little money SYN welfare American English
unemployment/housing/child etc benefit
You might be entitled to housing benefit.
on benefit
families on benefit
those people eligible to claim benefit
3 . EXTRA THINGS [countable usually plural] extra money or other advantages that you get as part of your job or from insurance that you have ⇨ perk :
We offer an excellent benefits package.
medical benefits
⇨ ↑ fringe benefit
4 . give somebody the benefit of the doubt to accept what someone tells you, even though you think they may be wrong or lying but you cannot be sure:
The referee gave him the benefit of the doubt.
5 . with the benefit of hindsight/experience used to say it is easier to know the right thing to do after something has happened or if you have a lot of experience:
He admitted that with the benefit of hindsight the original launch had not been large enough.
6 . benefit concert/performance/match a concert, performance etc arranged to make money for ↑ charity :
a benefit concert for famine relief
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have the benefit of something
All the hotel rooms have the benefit of a balcony.
▪ get a benefit ( also gain/derive a benefit formal )
In this way, students will gain maximum benefit from their classes.
▪ enjoy the benefits
You’ll enjoy all the benefits of being a member.
▪ reap the benefits (=enjoy the advantages of something you have worked hard to get)
He was looking forward to reaping the benefits of all his hard work.
▪ bring/provide benefits
The new bridge has brought considerable benefits.
▪ something outweighs the benefits (=something is more important than the benefits)
Make sure that the risks don’t outweigh the benefits.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + benefit
▪ a great/major/substantial benefit
The new system will be a great benefit to the company.
▪ a real benefit
To get some real benefit from the exercise, you should continue for at least half an hour.
▪ a direct benefit
The money sent has been of direct benefit to the islanders.
▪ a lasting benefit
These plans are likely to result in lasting benefit to the whole of our district.
▪ the full benefit of something
They will have the full benefit of our facilities.
▪ economic/social/environmental etc benefits
Tourism has brought considerable economic benefits to the island.
▪ health benefits
Just 30 minutes of moderate daily activity yields health benefits.
▪ mutual benefit (=something good for both people, companies etc involved)
Our two companies are working together for mutual benefit.
▪ potential benefits
The potential benefits of the scheme must be weighed against the costs involved.
▪ for your own benefit
He used the money for his own benefit, instead of using it to help other people.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ advantage a good feature that something has, which makes it better, more useful etc than other things:
The great advantage of digital cameras is that there is no film to process.
▪ benefit a feature of something that has a good effect on people’s lives:
Regular exercise has many benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease.
▪ merit a good feature that something has, which you consider when you are deciding whether it is the best choice:
The committee will consider the merits of the proposals.
|
The merits and demerits of (=the good and bad features of) alternative funding systems were widely discussed in the newspapers.
|
The chairman saw no great merit in this suggestion (=he did not think that it was a good idea) .
▪ virtue an advantage that makes you believe that something is a good thing:
They believed in the virtues of culture, civilization, and reason.
|
He’s always extolling the virtues of hard work (=saying that hard work is a good thing) .
▪ the good/great/best thing about something especially spoken used when mentioning a good feature of something. This phrase is rather informal and you should not use it in formal essays:
The good thing about cycling is that you don’t have to worry about getting stuck in a traffic jam.
▪ the beauty of something is that used when you want to emphasize that something has a very good or useful feature:
The beauty of the plan is that it is so simple.
II. benefit 2 S2 W3 AC BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle benefited , present participle benefiting )
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ benefit , ↑ beneficiary ; verb : ↑ benefit ; adverb : ↑ beneficially ; adjective : ↑ beneficial ]
[intransitive and transitive] if you benefit from something, or it benefits you, it gives you an advantage, improves your life, or helps you in some way:
They are working together to benefit the whole community.
benefit from/by
Many thousands have benefited from the new treatment.
They would benefit by reducing their labour costs.
benefit greatly/enormously/considerably etc
I’m sure you’ll benefit greatly from the visit.