lucrative

adjective

lu·​cra·​tive ˈlü-krə-tiv How to pronounce lucrative (audio)
: producing wealth : profitable
lucratively adverb
lucrativeness noun

Did you know?

Paying, gainful, remunerative, and lucrative are all used to describe ways to bring home the bacon, but each term suggests a different amount of bacon being brought in. Paying is the word for jobs that yield the smallest potatoes—a paying job should provide satisfactory compensation, but you're not going to get rich by it. Gainful employment might offer a bit more cash, and gainful certainly suggests that an individual is motivated by a desire for gain. Remunerative implies that a job provides more than the usual rewards, but a lucrative position is really the one you want—that's the kind that goes beyond your initial hopes or expectations to really bring in the lucre (both lucrative and lucre come from the Latin noun lucrum, meaning "gain" or "profit").

Examples of lucrative in a Sentence

Their success has given Gladwell an active, and extremely lucrative, second career as a public speaker. Much in demand, he is paid in the neighborhood of $40,000 per lecture. Rachel Donadio, New York Times Book Review, 5 Feb. 2006
Clubs take care of their star and other best players first, paying them lucrative salaries. By the time they get to the bottom half of the roster, they would not have enough money left to pay veterans worthwhile salaries … Murray Chass, New York Times, 16 Aug. 1994
Since the health care industry is lucrative and largely insulated from the usual disciplines of the marketplace, it has been able to absorb an ever-growing fraction of the gross domestic product. Marcia Angell, New England Journal of Medicine, 17 June 1993
The learned profession of the law was certainly not behind any other learned profession in its Bacchanalian propensities; neither was Mr. Stryver, already fast shouldering his way to a large and lucrative practice, behind his compeers in this particular, any more than in the drier parts of the legal race. Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859
The business has proved to be highly lucrative. the new manager's mission was to turn the failing store into a lucrative operation
Recent Examples on the Web Larger hospital that earned more money had the most lucrative tax break; 29 hospitals ‒ representing 1% of all nonprofits ‒ accounted for 19% of the total tax benefit, the study said. Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2024 Bush is seeking a share of those earnings — including those that have come from TV and other lucrative licensing and sponsorship deals — as well as an injunction preventing the defendants from using his name, image and likeness for financial gain again. Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2024 Working as a Goldman analyst can lead to a very lucrative career as an investment banker, stockbroker or in private equity. Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2024 Not to mention, Buffett’s reputation as one of the most shrewd and cash-rich investors enabled him to score many lucrative deals through personal negotiations, especially during crises . Yun Li, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lucrative 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lucrative.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English lucratif, from Middle French, from Latin lucrativus, from lucratus, past participle of lucrari to gain, from lucrum

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lucrative was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near lucrative

Cite this Entry

“Lucrative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lucrative. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

lucrative

adjective
lu·​cra·​tive ˈlü-krət-iv How to pronounce lucrative (audio)
: producing wealth : profitable
lucratively adverb
lucrativeness noun

Legal Definition

lucrative

adjective
lu·​cra·​tive ˈlü-krə-tiv How to pronounce lucrative (audio)
1
: producing wealth or profit
2
: acquired, received, or had without burdensome conditions or giving of consideration
lucratively adverb
lucrativeness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on lucrative

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