lucrative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lucrative
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English lucratif, from Middle French, from Latin lucrātīvus “gainful,” from lucrāt(us) “profited” (past participle of lucrārī “to make a profit, gain by economy”; see lucre) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Use lucrative to refer to a business or investment that makes money. While your parents might want you to pursue a lucrative career, you're committed to your plan of becoming a professional mime. This adjective is from the Latin word lucrum, meaning "profit." In Latin, lucrum also meant "greed," a negative sense preserved in the English phrase filthy lucre, or "shameful profit or gain." But the word lucrative doesn't carry a similar sense of shame — if your lawn-mowing job proves lucrative over the summer, you might be able to buy yourself a used car.
Vocabulary lists containing lucrative
Grade 10, List 2
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Hidden Figures
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Fast Food Nation
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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.
Together, they have made housing a more lucrative investment, incentivising the buying and selling of homes for profit.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
Just remember, the fans of all those other IPOs thought the same thing, and for all but a few, it wasn’t nearly as lucrative as they thought it would be.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
“Bitter Christmas” contains a couple of sharp notes on the economics of movies today, with Raul refusing a lucrative offer to appear at a film festival in Qatar, saying, “not everything has a price.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
While DeepSeek’s ability to rapidly increase its revenue is uncertain, some investors believe its connections to China’s industry will eventually help it build a lucrative business.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
In the social hierarchy of California’s farmers, orange growers stood at the very top; their homes were set amid fragrant evergreen trees that produced a lucrative income.
From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser
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.
