profit motive

American  

noun

1. the desire for profit that motivates one to engage in business ventures.

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profit motive Cultural  

1. The ability to earn profits as the reason for producers to make and sell goods.

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The profit motive is often called a great good or a great evil in society. On the one hand, it is said to represent selfishness; on the other, it is said to drive the free market system. (See invisible hand.)

Etymology

Origin of profit motive

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

profit motive

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissenting with Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, went after the profit motive that leads agencies to seize first and justify later.

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026

The new business would have to be legitimate, with a profit motive, “and not just a way to move money into an IRA for your child,” said Permashwar.

From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026

Sir Martyn says this "strong profit motive... bends the system out of shape".

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025

So is the fiction that anything other than the profit motive is going to govern how AI gets developed and deployed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2023

Very likely we much exaggerate the importance of the profit motive.

From Supply and Demand by Hubert D. Henderson