usury
Americannoun
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the lending or practice of lending money at an exorbitant interest.
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an exorbitant amount or rate of interest, especially in excess of the legal rate.
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Obsolete. interest paid for the use of money.
noun
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the act or practice of loaning money at an exorbitant rate of interest
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an exorbitant or unlawfully high amount or rate of interest
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obsolete moneylending
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of usury
1275–1325; Middle English usurie < Medieval Latin ūsūria (compare Latin ūsūra ), equivalent to Latin ūs ( us ) ( see use) + -ūr ( a ) -ure + -ia -y 3
Explanation
Usury means lending money at exorbitant interest rates. Some people think that credit card companies charging annual interest rates of 29% are guilty of usury. A good way to remember the meaning of usury is that you can hear the word use in there. Think of charging too much interest as a way of "using" someone. The sad thing about high interest is that it's always the people who can least afford it who are charged rates so high that it amounts to usury. In the old days, if someone was found guilty of usury, they'd be severely punished.
Vocabulary lists containing usury
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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Medieval Europe - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
States with usury caps still have functioning financial systems.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
Other pages on his site appear to criticise "fiat money" - commonly used currencies as opposed to gold and digital tokens like Bitcoin - and usury, the charging of interest on loans.
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2023
In recent years, 17 states have brought back strong usury limits, capping interest rates and effectively prohibiting payday lending.
From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2023
The regulators said Credit Acceptance "sets consumers up to fail" by charging exorbitant interest rates averaging 22% and entering arrangements with dealers that mask the true cost of borrowing and sometimes violate state usury laws.
From Reuters • Jan. 4, 2023
It was how Jackson got locals to trust him instead of the banks, even though his rates were straight usury as well.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
