profiteer

American  

[prof-i-teer] / ˌprɒf ɪˈtɪər /

noun

1. a person who seeks or exacts exorbitant profits, especially through the sale of scarce or rationed goods.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to act as a profiteer.

profiteer British  

/ ˌprɒfɪˈtɪə /

noun

1. a person who makes excessive profits, esp by charging exorbitant prices for goods in short supply

---

verb

1. (intr) to make excessive profits

Other Word Forms

• antiprofiteering adjective
• nonprofiteering noun
• profiteering noun
• unprofiteering adjective

Etymology

Origin of profiteer

First recorded in 1910–15; profit + -eer

Example Sentences

Hence, an episode interwoven with his anti-war, anti-nuke and anti-corporate profiteering planks also enabled him to criticize broadcast media’s lack of inclusion.

From Salon

“The Department of Justice will protect victims and families at all costs, and grief profiteers will be held accountable,” Arizona U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

Banks have acquired a certain reputation for profiteering from customers, especially less well-heeled customers, and playing fast and loose with the facts about their costs and profits.

From Los Angeles Times

Since then, cultural production has multiplied as a “vehicle for entertainment, politics, and profiteering,” but three decades of drought in “pure artistic innovation” have created a “blank space” at the heart of the culture.

From The Wall Street Journal

According to Ms. Vaill, he revealed his identity to Angelica, by then pregnant with their fourth child, only after he had made a fortune as a Revolutionary War profiteer and settled his debts.

From The Wall Street Journal