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

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

And that brings us to a linchpin of Kennedy’s efforts to change Cadiz’s image from water profiteer to responsible steward of a precious, and increasingly scarce, natural resource.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2024

Often, he now ends favorable reviews with a plea to “bossman,” which can mean the owner or the person at the cash register, to resist the urge to profiteer.

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2022

The housing and levelling up secretary has said the government would go after firms that "cut corners" and "sought to profiteer" from the Grenfell tragedy.

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2022

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

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