The idiom ‘give the benefit of the doubt' means to ‘decide that you believe someone, even though you’re not sure what they are saying is true’. This video explains the meaning of the idiom 'give the benefit of the doubt' in English. We explain how to use it with some easy examples for Social and Business English.
If you give someone the benefit of the doubt, you treat them as if they are telling the truth or as if they have behaved properly, even though you are not sure that this is the case. One would sometimes give someone the benefit of the doubt if they had an inkling that the person was to be trusted, or if they knew nothing about the person at all (in this circumstance, one wouldn’t judge the person because they know nothing about them, thus giving them the benefit of the doubt). This idiom is commonly heard in both social and professional situations.
Further Examples:
I consider myself a very trusting person. I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
I was given the benefit of the doubt when I turned in some work consisting of many mistakes.