Etimology
From Late Middle English benefytt, benefett, alteration (due to Latin bene-) of benfet, bienfet, bienfait (“good or noble deed”), from Anglo-Norman benfet (“well-done”), Middle French bienfait, from Old French bienfet, bienfait (“foredeal, favour”), from past participle of bienfaire (“to do good, do well”), from bien (“well”) + faire (“to do”), modelled after Latin benefactum (“good deed”). More at benefactor.
noun
benefit (countable and uncountable, plural benefits)
An advantage; help or aid from something.
(insurance) A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
An event, such as a theatrical performance, given to raise funds for some cause.
(obsolete) beneficence; liberality
Intended audience (as for the benefit of).
Examples
She can't read, so the voice recording was made for her benefit.
Exposure to cutting-edge technologies is one of the benefits of the job.
When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.
Gore Vidal […] will be sharing his wit and wisdom at the Arlington Street Church on Wednesday, April 5th at 7:00. The appearance is a benefit for the Boston/Boise Committee and the tickets are priced at $5.
The Birds, that liue i'th field / On the vvilde Benefit of nature, liue / Happier then vve; for they may chooſe their Mates, / And carroll their ſvveet pleaſures to the Spring: […]
The whole scene was staged for his benefit, and it completely fooled him.
Since my wife is Canadian, whenever we have dinner with my family, they keep bringing up anything they've heard about Canada lately for her benefit.
So, if Obodzinski is correct in saying that Mrs. Piela actually signed a document in the coffee shop, in front of witnesses, she staged a scene, pretending that it was the alleged Mandate. The other explanation is that none of this ever took place, and the staging was only a fictitious creation for the benefit of the Court.
Related words
synonyms
(advantage, help): foredeal, advantage, aid, assistance, boon, help
(payment): subsidy
antonyms
(antonym(s) of "advantage, help"): harm, disadvantage, encumbrance, hindrance, malefit, nuisance, obstacle, detriment
verb
benefit (third-person singular simple present benefits, present participle benefiting or benefitting, simple past and past participle benefited or benefitted)
(transitive) To be or to provide a benefit to.
(intransitive) To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.
Examples
[…] I will repent of the good; wherewith I saide I would benefite them.
Diesel maintenance schedules are benefiting from work done on the magnificent Hilger & Watts electronic spectrograph for oil analysis, which detects minute quantities of metals in samples of used lubricating oil; [...].
Instead, the grime of the steam years which still discoloured many of the best architectural features Betjeman loved has been cleared away, and several of the stations have benefited from major refurbishments which have greatly improved them.
Related words
synonyms
help, batten, behoove
antonyms
malefic
detriment
related terms
benefactor
beneficence
beneficent
beneficiary