1
general::
profit
money that you gain by selling things or doing business, after your costs have been paid:
• Our profits are down this year. • The big oil companies have made enormous profits following the rise in oil prices.
earnings
the profit that a company makes:
• The company said it expected fourth-quarter earnings to be lower than last year’s results. • Pre-tax earnings have grown from $6.3 million to $9.4 million.
return
the profit that you get from an investment:
• You should get a good return on your investment. • We didn’t get much of a return on our money. • They’re promising high returns on investments of over $100,000.
turnover
the amount of business done during a particular period:
• The illicit drugs industry has an annual turnover of some £200 bn.
takings
the money that a business, shop etc gets from selling its goods in a day, week, month etc:
• He counted the night’s takings. • This week’s takings are up on last week’s.
interest
money paid to you by a bank or other financial institution when you keep money in an account there:
• They are offering a high rate of interest on deposits of over £3000. • The money is still earning interest in your account.
dividend
a part of a company’s profit that is divided among the people who have shares in the company:
• Shareholders will receive a dividend of 10p for each share. • The company said it will pay shareholders a final dividend of 700 cents a share.
Longman-Thesaurus
3
general::
profit
adjectives
a big/huge profit
• Drug companies make huge profits.
a quick profit
(= happening quickly )
• They were only interested in a quick profit.
a good profit
• There is a good profit to be made in selling cars.
a substantial profit
• The agent then sells the land for a substantial profit to someone else.
a healthy/handsome/tidy profit
(= big )
• By the second year, the restaurant began to make a healthy profit.
a small/modest profit
• The business managed to produce a small profit last year.
net profit
(= after tax and costs are paid )
• The company made a net profit of $10.5 million.
gross profit
( also pre-tax profit ) (= before tax and costs are paid )
• The hotel group made a gross profit of £51.9 million in 2008.
trading/operating profit
(= profit relating to a company’s normal activities )
• Both turnover and operating profits were lower.
verbs
make a profit
• We are in business to make a profit.
turn/earn a profit
(= make a profit )
• Without the liquor sales, the store could not turn a profit.
show a profit
(= make a profit )
• The business will not show a profit this year.
report/post a profit
(= officially announce a profit )
• The company reported net profits of $3.6 million for fiscal year 2006.
generate profit(s)
• We have the capacity to generate more profit.
boost profits
(= make them increase )
• They aim to boost profits by slashing costs.
maximize profits
(= make them as big as possible )
• Every firm tries to maximize its profits.
profits are up/down
• Pre-tax profits were up 21.5%.
profits rise/increase/grow
• Half of the firms surveyed expected profits to rise.
profits soar/leap
(= increase by a large amount )
profits fall
• The group saw profits fall from £24m to £17.8m.
profits slump/plunge
(= fall by a large amount )
• The group’s pre-tax profits slumped to £25.5m.
transnet.ir
4
general::
noun ADJ. big, fat, good, greater, handsome, healthy, high, huge, large, record, substantial, tidy | low, modest, small They closed down after years of low profits. | excess | lost, unrealized Damaged goods mean lost profit. | realized | quick He's only interested in making a quick profit. | gross, pre-tax | after/post-tax, clear, net | taxable | interim, short-term | annual an annual profit of £50,000 | first-quarter, full-year, half-year, second-quarter, etc. | corporate, group | operating, trading VERB + PROFIT bring (in), earn, generate, make, realize, reap, yield The CD generated record profits. | boost, increase | maximize | show The company started to show a profit in its first year. PROFIT + VERB grow, increase, rise | fall, plummet, plunge | accrue, arise profits accruing to the taxpayer from the sale of property PROFIT + NOUN margin, rate PREP. against ~s The firm made losses of 500,000 against profits of 750,000. | at a ~ We should be able to sell the piano at a profit. | for ~ The goods were sold for profit. | ~ on Did you make a profit on your house when you sold it? PHRASES a decline/fall in profits, an increase/a rise in profits, profit after/before tax Profit before tax increased by 40% on last year.PER CENT (for more verbs)BUSINESS
Oxford Collocations Dictionary