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Business English vocabulary · Numbers and Money

Profit

Meaning in business english, with examples

/ˈprɑːfɪt/nounCore term

In business english, profit means: The money a business has left after it pays all its costs; if the costs are higher than the income, the result is a loss.

In Turkish: kar, kazanç

How it is used

You make, increase or report a profit; a business can be 'in profit' or 'make a loss'. 'Gross profit' is sales minus the direct cost of what was sold; 'net profit' is what remains after all costs and tax. The adjective is 'profitable'.

Example sentences

  1. The company made a profit of 2 million dollars in its first full year.

  2. Higher energy costs have hit our profits this quarter.

Common collocations

  • make a profit
  • net profit
  • gross profit
  • profit margin
  • profit and loss
  • revenueThe total amount of money a company receives from selling its goods or services in a period, before any costs are taken away.
  • bottom lineThe most important fact or the final position in a discussion; also a company's profit or loss, shown on the last line of its income statement.
  • budgetThe amount of money that a company, team or project plans to spend over a period of time, or the plan that shows this.
  • turnoverIn British English, the total value of the sales a company makes in a period; also the rate at which employees leave and are replaced.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Numbers and Money

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