the benefit of the doubt

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiom

   A generous decision to treat someone as innocent or honest when you cannot be sure what they really did or meant.

   Grammar: Almost always follows give or get: give someone the benefit of the doubt. It is not used with a plural.

   Patterns

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

   I wasn't sure he had really lost the key, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

   The referee gave the defender the benefit of the doubt and waved play on.

   She asked the committee to give her the benefit of the doubt just this once.

2. 2phraseidiomlegalsport

   In law and sport, the rule that an uncertain case should be decided in favor of the person accused or the player.

   Grammar: Used in courts and sports: the batter got the benefit of the doubt.

   Patterns

   • get the benefit of the doubt
   • the benefit of the doubt goes to someone

   Because the evidence was unclear, the defendant got the benefit of the doubt.

   In close line calls, the benefit of the doubt goes to the player.

Common combinations

give someone the benefit of the doubt

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but don't do it again.

get the benefit of the doubt

The new employee got the benefit of the doubt after the error.

extend the benefit of the doubt

Parents should extend the benefit of the doubt to teenagers.

deserve the benefit of the doubt

Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt at first.

no benefit of the doubt

After three lies, he got no benefit of the doubt.

Synonyms and how they differ

leniency

Leniency means mercy in punishing someone you know did wrong, while the benefit of the doubt applies when guilt is uncertain.

trust

Trust is a settled belief in someone, whereas the benefit of the doubt is a temporary assumption made without proof.

good faith

Good faith describes honest intentions on someone's own side, while the benefit of the doubt is something you give to another person.

the presumption of innocence

This is the formal legal principle, and the benefit of the doubt is the everyday phrase for the same generosity.

Opposites

Word family

benefit noun

an advantage or good result

doubt noun

a feeling of uncertainty

doubtful adjective

feeling or causing uncertainty

undoubtedly adverb

without any doubt

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

Practice

Make it your own

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

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