beneficiary

noun

ben·​e·​fi·​cia·​ry ˌbe-nə-ˈfi-shē-ˌer-ē 

-e-rē,

-ˈfi-sh(ə-)rē 

plural beneficiaries

1

: a person or thing that receives help or an advantage from something : one that benefits from something

the main beneficiaries of these economic reforms

2

law : a person or entity (as a charity or estate) designated usually in a legal instrument to receive money or property: such as

a

: a person or entity named in a will to receive the proceeds of an estate upon the death of the testator

b

: a person or entity named to receive the principal or income or both from a trust

c

: a person or entity named in an insurance policy to receive proceeds or benefits (see benefit entry 1 sense 2b)

Did you know?

Beneficiary is often used in connection with life insurance, but it shows up in many other contexts as well. A college may be the beneficiary of a private donation. Your uncle's will may make a church his sole beneficiary, in which case all his money and property will go to it when he dies. A "third-party beneficiary" of a contract is a person (often a child) who the people signing the contract (which is usually an insurance policy or an employee-benefit plan) want to benefit from it. In a more general way, a small business may be a beneficiary of changes to the tax code, or a restaurant may be the beneficiary when the one across the street closes down and its whole lunch crowd starts coming in.

Examples of beneficiary in a Sentence

The college was a beneficiary of the private grant.

Recent Examples on the Web

Open enrollment is a time when Medicare beneficiaries are encouraged to review their health care coverage and make any necessary changes. —Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 4 Nov. 2025

If the prospect of people going hungry doesn’t move you, consider some of the other beneficiaries of SNAP. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025

Noncitizens account for less than five percent of SNAP beneficiaries, according to USDA data from 2023. —NPR, 4 Nov. 2025

Some of the beneficiaries are among the most vulnerable individuals in the country. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see benefice

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for beneficiary

• accretionary
• apothecary
• bicentenary
• certiorari
• concessionary
• concretionary
• confectionary
• confectionery
• constabulary
• contemporary
• deflationary
• depositary

Kids Definition

beneficiary

noun

ben·​e·​fi·​ci·​ary

ˌben-ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌer-ē,

-ˈfish-(ə-)rē

plural beneficiaries

: a person who benefits or is expected to benefit from something

the beneficiary of life insurance

Legal Definition

beneficiary

noun

ben·​e·​fi·​cia·​ry ˌbe-nə-ˈfi-shē-ˌer-ē, -ˈfi-shə-rē 

plural beneficiaries

: a person or entity (as a charity or estate) that receives a benefit from something (as a will or other instrument or legal agreement): as

a

: the person or entity named or otherwise entitled to receive the principal or income or both from a trust compare settlor, trustee

— contingent beneficiary

: a beneficiary that may receive proceeds from a trust depending on the occurrence of a specified event (as the death of another beneficiary)

— income beneficiary

: a beneficiary that according to the provisions of a trust is to receive income but not the principal of the trust

Note: A trust may provide for income to be paid to someone (as a spouse) for his or her lifetime and then for payment of the principal to another person. A trustee is sometimes allowed to distribute some of the principal of the trust to an income beneficiary when necessary for the support of the beneficiary if support of the beneficiary was the purpose of the trust.

b

: the person or entity named by the insured of a life insurance policy to receive the proceeds upon the insured's death

— contingent beneficiary

: a beneficiary named to receive the insurance proceeds if the primary beneficiary has died

called also secondary beneficiary

— primary beneficiary \ ˈprī-​ˌmer-​ē-​, -​mə-​rē-​ \

: a beneficiary named to receive the insurance proceeds before any other

— secondary beneficiary \ ˈsek-​ən-​ˌder-​ē-​ \

: contingent beneficiary in this entry

c

: a person or entity entitled under a letter of credit to demand payment from the issuer of the letter

d

: a person or entity that benefits from a promise, agreement, or contract

especially : third-party beneficiary in this entry

the contractual beneficiaries…are mortgagees and investors

—Key Pac. Mortg. Inc. v. Industrial Indem. Co., 845 P.2d 1087 (1993)

— creditor beneficiary

: a direct beneficiary whom the party paying for the other party's performance intends to benefit as payment for a debt or obligation compare donee beneficiary in this entry

— direct beneficiary

: a third-party beneficiary to a contract whom the parties to the contract intended to benefit compare incidental beneficiary in this entry

— donee beneficiary

: a direct beneficiary whom the party paying for the other party's performance intends to benefit as a gift or donation

— incidental beneficiary

: a third-party beneficiary to a contract whom the parties to the contract did not intend to benefit compare direct beneficiary in this entry

— third-party beneficiary

: a person or entity that is not a party to but has rights under a contract made by two other parties