beneficiary

American  

[ben-uh-fish-ee-er-ee, -fish-uh-ree] / ˌbɛn əˈfɪʃ iˌɛr i, -ˈfɪʃ ə ri /

noun

plural

beneficiaries

1. a person or group that receives benefits, profits, or advantages.

2. a person designated as the recipient of funds or other property under a will, trust, insurance policy, etc.

3. Ecclesiastical. the holder of a benefice.

---

beneficiary British  

/ ˌbɛnɪˈfɪʃərɪ /

noun

1. a person who gains or benefits in some way from something

2. law a person entitled to receive funds or other property under a trust, will, or insurance policy

3. the holder of an ecclesiastical or other benefice

4. a person who receives government assistance

   social security beneficiary

---

adjective

1. of or relating to a benefice or the holder of a benefice

beneficiary Cultural  

1. The recipient of funds, property, or other benefits from an insurance policy, will, trust, or other settlement.

---

Other Word Forms

• prebeneficiary noun

Etymology

Origin of beneficiary

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin beneficiārius, from benefici(um) benefice + -ārius -ary

Explanation

A beneficiary is simply the recipient of money or other benefits. So when your big sister finally moves away to college and you get to move into her bigger bedroom? You become a lucky beneficiary. In other words — if you benefit from something, you are a beneficiary. This word pops up most commonly when people are creating their wills and trusts — you have to choose beneficiaries as the people who will get what you have when you die. But it isn't always so morbid. You can be the beneficiary of someone's kindness, the beneficiary of a good education, or even the beneficiary of your own hard work.

Example Sentences

Trusts are designed to manage assets, distribute income, prevent beneficiaries from getting too much money at one time, avoid probate and plan for any incapacity of the beneficiary.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

One beneficiary is Columbus, Ohio-based Vertiv, which produces power-management, cooling and server rack infrastructure, primarily for data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

“This is not political. ... We care about the beneficiary and the benefit, full stop. That is who we are protecting.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Morgan analysts downgraded the artificial-intelligence beneficiary to Neutral from Overweight with the firm cautious heading into earnings.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

Hale had always insisted that Roan, one of his closest friends, had made him the beneficiary because he had lent Roan a lot of money over the years.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• heir
• recipient