beneficiary

UK/ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əɹ.i/US/ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.ɚ.i/

nounC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,224 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: beneficiaries

A beneficiary is somebody who receives an advantage or a legacy. The main beneficiary, a beneficiary of the will, named as beneficiary.

In a will and in insurance it is the technical term, and naming one on a pension or a policy overrides what the will says, which surprises a great many families. In general use it means whoever gained, whether they meant to or not.

Definitions of beneficiary

1nounbeneficiarySomebody who receives an advantage or a legacy.C1
“She was the sole beneficiary of her uncle's will and inherited his house.”

beneficiary is a person.

Where it comes from

Latin beneficiarius comes from beneficium, a favour or benefit, from bene, well, plus facere, to do.

French
bénéficiaire — beneficiary
Latin
beneficiarius — enjoying a favor, granted a privilege
English, today
beneficiary

Built from

beneficium · Latin — benefit

From Latin beneficiarius (“enjoying a favor, granted a privilege”) from beneficium (“benefit”), perhaps via or influenced by French bénéficiaire (“beneficiary”). Indirectly, by way of the etymology of the Latin word beneficium, the English word beneficiary ultimately has the same origin as the English word benefactor, its near antonym.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

beneficiary in the wild

For example, in a living trust it is common for the grantor to be both a trustee and a lifetime beneficiary while naming other contingent beneficiaries.
Trust (law)
In all cases, the trustee may be a person or company, regardless of whether they are a prospective beneficiary.
Trustee
Once the goods have been shipped, the beneficiary will present the requested documents to the nominated bank.
Letter of credit
A beneficiary in the broadest sense refers to the benefit or advantage someone gets as the result of something else.
Beneficiary
For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured.
Beneficiary

1 / 3

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

← Vocabulary