profiteering

[ pro-fi-teer-ing ]

/ ˌprɒ fɪˈtɪər ɪŋ /

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See synonyms for: profiteering / profiteerings on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act or practice of seeking exorbitant profits, especially through the sale of scarce or rationed goods: The companies who raised prices before, during, or after the hurricane were charged with profiteering.

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Origin of profiteering

First recorded in 1810–15; profit + -eer + -ing¹

Words nearby profiteering

profit and loss, profit and loss account, profit center, profit centre, profiteer, profiteering, profiterole, profit margin, profit motive, profit sharing, profit squeeze

How to use profiteering in a sentence

Illinois attempted to take a strong stand against adoption profiteering in a 2005 adoption-reform act, which barred out-of-state, for-profit intermediaries from engaging in adoption-related activities in the state.
The Baby Brokers: Inside America’s Murky Private-Adoption Industry|Tik Root|June 3, 2021|Time
As we’ve heard so far, a peer-reviewed economic analysis shows these firms behave in a variety of ways that seem closer to profiteering than just profit-maximizing.
Is Dialysis a Test Case of Medicare for All? (Ep. 457)|Stephen J. Dubner|April 8, 2021|Freakonomics
He’s used data to show profiteering at a mental health hospital and questionable practices in local law enforcement agencies.
ProPublica Hires Reporter Neil Bedi to Cover Federal Government Agencies|by ProPublica|December 1, 2020|ProPublica
It has lobbied public-pension investors and members of Congress to press the firm to return its dividends to the company, saying its profiteering has put Prospect’s safety-net hospitals at risk.
Investors Extracted $400 Million From a Hospital Chain That Sometimes Couldn’t Pay for Medical Supplies or Gas for Ambulances|by Peter Elkind with Doris Burke|September 30, 2020|ProPublica

Religious profiteering has spread beyond the tourism industry.
The Buddhist Business of Poaching Animals for Good Karma|Brendon Hong|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Grotesque profiteering aside, life release ceremonies can devastate the eco-system.
The Buddhist Business of Poaching Animals for Good Karma|Brendon Hong|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Should Courage give up her war profiteering and settle down to run an honest pub—even if it means abandoning her mute girl?
Brecht's Mercenary Mother Courage Turns 75|Katie Baker|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The next thing I expect is some sort of profiteering off this.
'Celebrity Rehab' Counselor: Mindy McCready Won't Be the Last|Maer Roshan|February 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Romney let the Obama campaign pummel and define him as the profiteering-job destroyer from Bain.
R.I.P., Mitt Romney|Robert Shrum|November 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There were harsh laws against profiteering in France in 1793—England in 1919 found it necessary to make quite similar laws.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind|Herbert George Wells
However delicate a definition is framed for 'profiteering,' these packers have preyed upon the people unconscionably.
Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War, Volume XII|Various
How, too, can its existence be proved, for high fixed prices are not always an evidence of profiteering methods.
Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War, Volume XII|Various
Thus Nehemiah would have had ample precedent to fill his own coffers by injustice, profiteering and worse: he had the power.
The Book of Courage|John Thomson Faris
And none of us are going to stand profiteering, and broken pledges, and that kind of thing!'
Elizabeth's Campaign|Mrs. Humphrey Ward