give the benefit of the doubt

Meaning

To choose to believe that someone is telling the truth or behaving well, even though you cannot be completely sure. It is a polite and empathetic way to handle uncertain situations.

Examples

• She said she forgot her wallet, so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

  She said she forgot her wallet, so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

• Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and wait another ten minutes.

  Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and wait another ten minutes.

• I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt this time, but it can't happen again.

  I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt this time, but it can't happen again.

• Instead of getting angry, try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

  Instead of getting angry, try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

• Even though the evidence was weak, the manager gave her the benefit of the doubt.

  Even though the evidence was weak, the manager gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I gave him the benefit of doubt.

  ✓ I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

  You must include the definite article 'the' before 'doubt' to make the idiom grammatically correct.

• ✗ We should give the benefit of the doubt to him.

  ✓ We should give him the benefit of the doubt.

  While placing the person at the end is occasionally understood, the standard natural word order is 'give [someone] the benefit of the doubt'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• He has a good track record, so let's ___.

  💡 Choose to believe him despite minor uncertainty.

  Show answer

  give him the benefit of the doubt

• It's always better to ___ until you know the whole truth.

  💡 Assume good intentions first.

  Show answer

  give people the benefit of the doubt