Profit

How to spell profit

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce profit

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does profit mean?

1. nounThe money gained in a transaction or business after costs are subtracted.
2. verbTo gain a benefit or advantage from something.

Profit in a sentence

• noun

  The company reported a healthy profit for the third quarter.

• verb

  Investors stand to profit from the lower interest rates.

• noun

  After rent and wages, the shop made very little profit last month.

• verb

  Students who attend regularly tend to profit most from the course.

Where does profit come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word travelled into English from the Latin profectus, the past participle of proficere, which meant 'to make progress', 'to advance', or 'to be useful'. That verb was built from pro, meaning 'forward', and facere, meaning 'to make or do', so the literal sense was something like 'made forward' or 'advanced'. Old French carried it as profit, keeping the idea of advantage and gain, and English adopted it in the 1300s, at first for any benefit or advancement and soon for financial return in particular. The same facere root sits inside a large family of English words, including 'manufacture', 'effect', and 'perfect', which is a useful reminder that the ending is spelled -fit and not -phet. Its troublesome homophone, prophet, comes from an entirely unrelated Greek source meaning 'one who speaks before', which is why their spellings diverge so sharply.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward, for)
• fit (from Latin facere: to make/do)

Words that sound like profit

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• prophet: A person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.