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.
Over roughly the last decade, NorthPoint built the logistics park that remade Edgerton from a quiet farming town into a lucrative industrial hub.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
That can be done, he said, by offering a “sufficiently lucrative takeout premium.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Prosecutors suggested it could be even more lucrative for him to return to Saudi Arabia.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
The lengthier postseason would force the regular season to begin one week earlier and likely eliminate Power 4 conference championship games, which while lucrative, can be redundant and potentially problematic in impacting the CFP slate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
So first thing in the morning, I approached Mrs. B, hoping to hit her up for a lucrative babysitting gig.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
