beneficiary

noun

ben·​e·​fi·​cia·​ry ˌbe-nə-ˈfi-shē-ˌer-ē How to pronounce beneficiary (audio)
-e-rē,
-ˈfi-sh(ə-)rē How to pronounce beneficiary (audio)
plural beneficiaries
1
: a person or thing that receives help or an advantage from something : one that benefits from something
the main beneficiaries of these economic reforms
2
a
law : the person designated to receive the income of an estate that is subject to a trust (see trust entry 1 sense 3a)
b
: the person named (as in an insurance policy) to receive proceeds or benefits (see benefit entry 1 sense 2b)
named his brother as the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy

Did you know?

Beneficiary is often used in connection with life insurance, but it shows up in many other contexts as well. A college may be the beneficiary of a private donation. Your uncle's will may make a church his sole beneficiary, in which case all his money and property will go to it when he dies. A "third-party beneficiary" of a contract is a person (often a child) who the people signing the contract (which is usually an insurance policy or an employee-benefit plan) want to benefit from it. In a more general way, a small business may be a beneficiary of changes to the tax code, or a restaurant may be the beneficiary when the one across the street closes down and its whole lunch crowd starts coming in.

Examples of beneficiary in a Sentence

The college was a beneficiary of the private grant.
Recent Examples on the Web According to a study in the journal Health Affairs, Medicare beneficiaries with dental coverage paid an average of $894 out-of-pocket in 2016 – while those who didn’t have coverage paid $928. Amy Wagner and Steve Hruby, The Enquirer, 12 Mar. 2024 His father John Perry and mother Suzanne Morrison are named trust beneficiaries. Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which runs Medicare, currently has the power to negotiate the prices of 10 drugs with pharmaceutical companies each year in order to save beneficiaries money. Anisa Arsenault, Verywell Health, 8 Mar. 2024 Just minutes later, the US was a beneficiary of the conditions, when Canada defender Vanessa Gilles’ pass to goalkeeper Kaelin Sheridan stopped dramatically in the puddles, allowing Jaedyn Shaw to give the US the lead. Ben Morse, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 Among the main beneficiaries is Flynn, a longtime Newsom donor whose California holdings include two dozen Panera Bread locations. Daniela Sirtori-Cortina, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 For the assets, list the institution where they are held along with a website link, how to log in, the value, and your beneficiaries. Carolyn McClanahan, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 In recent years, California has been the beneficiary of a worldwide soundstage construction boom triggered by the streaming wars and buttressed locally by the state’s 4% tax credit established in 2021 for productions shooting on new or renovated qualified soundstages. Todd Longwell, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024 Nvidia has been the biggest beneficiary of the AI boom. Krystal Hur, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beneficiary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see benefice

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of beneficiary was in 1627

Dictionary Entries Near beneficiary

Cite this Entry

“Beneficiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beneficiary. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

beneficiary

noun
ben·​e·​fi·​ci·​ary
ˌben-ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌer-ē,
-ˈfish-(ə-)rē
plural beneficiaries
: a person who benefits or is expected to benefit from something
the beneficiary of life insurance

Legal Definition

beneficiary

noun
ben·​e·​fi·​cia·​ry ˌbe-nə-ˈfi-shē-ˌer-ē, -ˈfi-shə-rē How to pronounce beneficiary (audio)
plural beneficiaries
: a person or entity (as a charity or estate) that receives a benefit from something (as a will or other instrument or legal agreement): as
a
: the person or entity named or otherwise entitled to receive the principal or income or both from a trust compare settlor, trustee
contingent beneficiary
: a beneficiary that may receive proceeds from a trust depending on the occurrence of a specified event (as the death of another beneficiary)
income beneficiary
: a beneficiary that according to the provisions of a trust is to receive income but not the principal of the trust

Note: A trust may provide for income to be paid to someone (as a spouse) for his or her lifetime and then for payment of the principal to another person. A trustee is sometimes allowed to distribute some of the principal of the trust to an income beneficiary when necessary for the support of the beneficiary if support of the beneficiary was the purpose of the trust.

b
: the person or entity named by the insured of a life insurance policy to receive the proceeds upon the insured's death
contingent beneficiary
: a beneficiary named to receive the insurance proceeds if the primary beneficiary has died

called also secondary beneficiary

primary beneficiary \ ˈprī-​ˌmer-​ē-​, -​mə-​rē-​ \
: a beneficiary named to receive the insurance proceeds before any other
secondary beneficiary \ ˈsek-​ən-​ˌder-​ē-​ \
: contingent beneficiary in this entry
c
: a person or entity entitled under a letter of credit to demand payment from the issuer of the letter
d
: a person or entity that benefits from a promise, agreement, or contract
especially : third-party beneficiary in this entry
the contractual beneficiaries…are mortgagees and investors Key Pac. Mortg. Inc. v. Industrial Indem. Co., 845 P.2d 1087 (1993)
creditor beneficiary
: a direct beneficiary whom the party paying for the other party's performance intends to benefit as payment for a debt or obligation compare donee beneficiary in this entry
direct beneficiary
: a third-party beneficiary to a contract whom the parties to the contract intended to benefit compare incidental beneficiary in this entry
donee beneficiary
: a direct beneficiary whom the party paying for the other party's performance intends to benefit as a gift or donation
incidental beneficiary
: a third-party beneficiary to a contract whom the parties to the contract did not intend to benefit compare direct beneficiary in this entry
third-party beneficiary
: a person or entity that is not a party to but has rights under a contract made by two other parties
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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