I. ˈprä-fət noun
Usage: often attributive
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 -ləs adjective
• prof·it·wise -ˌwīz adverb
II. verb
Date: 14th century
intransitive verb
1. : to be of service or advantage : avail
2. : to derive benefit : gain
3. : to make a profit
transitive verb
: to be of service to : benefit