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friend with benefit

friend with benefit

1 8.4
A person you have sex with but are not in a romantic relationship with
  • noun
  • NSFW
translation icon : amigo con derechos
  • They laughed about their arrangement, saying it was nice to have a friend with benefits who shared similar interests but no romantic expectations.

Examples

  • The next prompt is your friend with benefits is afraid of commitment.

  • She explained that he was just her friend with benefits, and they both understood it was not a serious relationship.

  • After a few casual dates, they decided to become friends with benefits to enjoy each other's company without any commitments.

Synonyms

friends with benefits
vsfriend with benefit
  • NSFW
5 7.4

Friends who have sex but are not a romantic couple

is the singular form of the same idea
friendship with benefits
vsfriend with benefit
  • NSFW
7.3

Two friends who have sex but are not a romantic couple

refers to a single person rather than the general relationship

Antonyms

178 3.2

A promise to do something that creates a legal or financial duty

How Committed

spouse
272 1.0
committed
8 3.5
partner
878 1.1
friend with benefit
  • NSFW
1 8.4
sociosexual
  • NSFW
9.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

friend + with + benefit

The literal parts 'friend' + 'with' + 'benefit' only suggest a friend who has some advantage or advantage-related quality, and do not transparently signal a non‑committed sexual relationship. The phrase is a colloquial idiom (usually 'friends with benefits') whose sexual, non‑committal meaning is culturally specific and unpredictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner knowing the words would unlikely infer the idiomatic sense.

Etymology

Friend with benefit is a modern saying that gives a simple picture: a friend who offers a benefit — here meaning sex or physical pleasure — but not a romantic promise. That's why it now means 'a sexual relationship without commitment'.