lucre
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of lucre
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin lucrum profit; akin to Old English lēan reward, German Lohn, Gothic, Old Norse laun
Explanation
Lucre is another word for money, or profit. It's most often used to describe money gotten illegally or immorally. Well-heeled bankers and lawyers make profits; drug dealers and bank robbers get filthy, rotten lucre. You might think of lucre as the term that gets at the dark side of capitalism. Some people will do anything in the pursuit of lucre. Political groups that call Hollywood immoral still accept the lucre that it offers. We all love money, except when it causes us to do terrible things to ourselves and others. Then it's lucre.
Vocabulary lists containing lucre
Jane Eyre
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This Week In Words: November 2–8, 2019
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Challenge, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And he's making it very clear that he will not be happy if they don't come across with plenty of lucre to fill his royal coffers.
From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024
We’re just spitballing alternative-history takes here while we await our bountiful tip-jar tax breaks and tariff lucre.
From Slate • Nov. 9, 2024
Attackers could include “hacktivists” seeking to make a political statement and cyberextortionists bent on lucre.
From Seattle Times • May 3, 2024
The industry’s surpassing love of lucre beyond all else doesn’t only infect political coverage.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2023
Then she tried a child’s story, which she could easily have disposed of if she had not been mercenary enough to demand filthy lucre for it.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
