lucrative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- lucratively adverb
- lucrativeness noun
- nonlucrative adjective
- nonlucratively adverb
- nonlucrativeness noun
- unlucrative adjective
Etymology
Origin of lucrative
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English lucratif, from Middle French, from Latin lucrātīvus “gainful,” from lucrāt(us) “profited” (past participle of lucrārī “to make a profit, gain by economy”; see lucre) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Use lucrative to refer to a business or investment that makes money. While your parents might want you to pursue a lucrative career, you're committed to your plan of becoming a professional mime. This adjective is from the Latin word lucrum, meaning "profit." In Latin, lucrum also meant "greed," a negative sense preserved in the English phrase filthy lucre, or "shameful profit or gain." But the word lucrative doesn't carry a similar sense of shame — if your lawn-mowing job proves lucrative over the summer, you might be able to buy yourself a used car.
Vocabulary lists containing lucrative
Grade 10, List 2
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Hidden Figures
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Fast Food Nation
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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.
The spikes led to lucrative payoffs for some traders on Polymarket, the crypto-based betting platform.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
This system dictates that fixed salaries are tied to specific draft positions, meaning a higher draft pick results in a more lucrative overall contract and a larger signing bonus.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026
He became a regular on a training circuit where speakers received lucrative contracts from international governments and law enforcement agencies to teach about the threat of militant Islamist movements.
From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026
Each of these failures was in direct violation of the Army’s written safety measures agreed to by Fluor in the lucrative contract signed with the federal government.
From Slate • Apr. 22, 2026
His father was heir to the Vanderbilt railroad and oceanic shipping fortune; his mother’s father had invented the fantastically lucrative Bromo-Seltzer.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
