beneficiary
noun
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
Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 25 Mar. 2026
Now the west coast will be the beneficiary of that, as Dylan has added a fresh string of dates to his itinerary that include a batch of shows in California.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
Goldman also named Cheniere Energy as a beneficiary of a tighter market.
—Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2026
The airlines, which are the primary beneficiaries of the labor provided by TSA and air traffic controllers, should be the first ones at the table demanding this action.
—Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for beneficiary
Cite this Entry
“Beneficiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beneficiary. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
beneficiary
noun
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.
called also secondary beneficiary
Key Pac. Mortg. Inc. v. Industrial Indem. Co., 845 P.2d 1087 (1993) 
