# profit

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɹɒfɪt/ · frequency rank #2,051

## Definitions
1. Total 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.
2. Benefit, positive result obtained.
3. Ellipsis of profit à prendre.

## Etymology
From Middle English profit, from Old French profit (Modern French profit), from Latin prōfectus (“advance, progress, growth, increase, profit”), from proficiō (“to go forward, advance, make progress, be profitable or useful”). Doublet of profect.

## Easily confused with
- **Prot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/profit-vs-prot)
- **prompt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/profit-vs-prompt)
- **Proust** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/profit-vs-proust)
- **profits** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/profit-vs-profits)
- **prophet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/profit-vs-prophet)
- **posit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/posit-vs-profit)
- **prefix** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prefix-vs-profit)
- **profile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/profile-vs-profit)

## Common misspellings (9)
`porfit`, `pprofit`, `prfoit`, `proffit`, `profitt`, `profti`, `proift`, `prrofit`, `rpofit`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/profit