profit

plural profits · alternative abbreviation obsolete ꝓfit

1. countableuncountableaccountingTotal income or cash flow minus expenditures. The money or other benefit a non-governmental organization or individual receives in exchange for products and services sold at an advertised price.

   Let no man anticipate uncertain profits.

   1750 Oct. 2, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler

   3 more examples

   War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives... Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket—and are safely pocketed.

   1935, Smedley Butler, War Is a Racket, page 1 & 7

   The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies. […] current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate […] “stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled.

   2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 27 Oct 2020, page 68

   After the pandemic, MLG lost a lot of its viewership and profits which led it to close. The MLG Twitter account is no longer active and the mlg.com website directs to Battlenet instead of its old website.

   2023 October 13, Daniel Appleford, “Fans support MLG being brought back under Microsoft acquisition”, in Dexerto

2. countabledatedliteraryuncountableBenefit, positive result obtained.

   Reading such an enlightening book on the subject was of much profit to his studies.

   2 more examples

   This I speak for your own profit.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians vii:35

   if you dare do yourself a profit and a right

   c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]

3. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountablelawEllipsis of profit à prendre.

present singular third person profits · participle present profiting · participle past profited · past profited · alternative abbreviation obsolete ꝓfit

1. transitiveTo benefit (somebody), be of use to (somebody).

   The word preached did not profit them.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 4:2

   1 more example

   It is a great means of profiting yourself, to copy diligently those excellent pieces and beautiful designs.

   1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC

2. intransitiveTo benefit, gain.
3. intransitiveTo take advantage of, exploit, use.

plural Profits

1. A surname.