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.

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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

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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

Explanation

To profiteer is to take advantage of a situation or a person in order to make money. A landlord might profiteer during a housing shortage by doubling rents. When you profiteer, you don't just profit — you profit more than you should at the expense of someone else. You can also call a person who does this a profiteer. Profiteers famously take advantage of things like scarce food or ongoing conflicts to make a lot of money. The word existed but wasn't commonly used in English until World War I, when journalists started talking about "war profiteers" who benefited financially from shortages and desperation.

Example Sentences

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 • Nov. 21, 2025

But then, the very act and art of dealmaking, you soon realize, is fundamental to Oskar Schindler’s story, which is, after all, the story of a German war profiteer.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2023

New York tends to be a big purchaser and profiteer of these mills, and we are trying to cut off the demand at a retail level,” said Sen. Michael Gianaris, a Democrat.

From Washington Times • Dec. 15, 2022

Mr Brown said organisers were "naturally disappointed" that some had "decided to try to profiteer" from Liverpool's staging of the event.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2022

Oskar Schindler has been called many names: scoundrel, womanizer, war profiteer, drunk.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson