Benefit means something helpful or good that you gain from a situation. When you benefit from extra study time before a test, you gain the advantage of being better prepared. The benefits of regular exercise include stronger muscles, more energy, and better health.

A benefit can be something concrete, like when a job offers health insurance benefits to its employees, or something less tangible, like the benefit of learning from your mistakes. Schools hold fundraising events where the proceeds benefit programs like music or sports. When doctors say a medicine's benefits outweigh its risks, they mean the good it does is more important than any potential problems.

You can also use benefit as a verb: a garden benefits from regular watering, or students benefit from asking questions when they're confused.

The word suggests real value or improvement. The benefit of learning to read is that it opens up entire worlds of knowledge and stories, while getting a ride to school might simply be convenient.