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”; 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.
Both firms announced they were realigning their strategies to prioritize the lunar project -- and keep their lucrative contracts with NASA.
From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026
Selling frequent-flier miles to credit card companies alone is lucrative enough that many airlines wouldn’t break even without it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Ads could be a lucrative monetization avenue for OpenAI.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
The kind of creator-fronted brands that Nile hopes to start can become lucrative businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Historian John Grenier reports that it could be quite lucrative to be a scalp hunter.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
