Benefit Of The Doubt Definition & Meaning

American

Etymology

Examples

benefit of the doubt American

noun

1. a favorable opinion or judgment adopted despite uncertainty.

Etymology

Origin of benefit of the doubt

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“And so rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt all the time and then rewarding them for very consistent growth, I think investors are starting to look for warts.”

From Barron's

"I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt," Mr Mohring added.

From BBC

Labour MPs, for now, seem willing to at least give the prime minister and the chancellor the benefit of the doubt.

From BBC

"I think the report itself to me is a little more surprising because it seems to give the president and some of his allies a lot of benefit of the doubt, given what the evidence brought forth looked like," he said.

From BBC

For now, the analysts say they will give Nvidia the benefit of the doubt, noting it is on track to exit 2025 with a mid-70% margin, as it guided for earlier this year.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.