benefit of the doubt

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiom

   A willingness to believe that someone is honest or innocent, even though you cannot be sure.

   Grammar: Usually follows give or get: I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

   Patterns

   • give someone the benefit of the doubt
   • get the benefit of the doubt

   I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he forgot.

   The referee gave the defender the benefit of the doubt.

   She was late, but her boss gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Common combinations

give someone the benefit of the doubt

Give people the benefit of the doubt when they make mistakes.

get the benefit of the doubt

The new employee got the benefit of the doubt.

extend the benefit of the doubt

We extended the benefit of the doubt to the new teacher.

without the benefit of the doubt

He lost his case without the benefit of the doubt.

deserve the benefit of the doubt

She deserves the benefit of the doubt after her excellent record.

Synonyms and how they differ

leeway

Leeway means freedom to act, while the benefit of the doubt is about believing someone's honesty.

the presumption of innocence

This is a legal idea that someone is innocent until proven guilty, while the benefit of the doubt is an everyday attitude.

slack

Slack, as in cut someone some slack, is more informal and means being less strict.

Opposites

Word family

benefit noun

an advantage or favor

doubt noun

a feeling of uncertainty

doubtful adjective

unsure or unlikely

undoubtedly adverb

without doubt

Commonly confused: benefit of the doubt or beyond a reasonable doubt?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “benefit of the doubt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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