Main Entry: ¹prof·it

Pronunciation: \ˈprä-fət\

Function: 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