lucre

noun

lu·​cre ˈlü-kər 

: monetary gain : profit

wrote almost entirely for lucre

also : money

Synonyms of lucre

• money
• cash
• coin
• currency
• bucks

Examples of lucre in a Sentence

foreign coins are not acceptable lucre in most vending machines in this country

Recent Examples on the Web

For now, though, Detroit’s automakers are leaning into the lucre that comes from selling millions of fossil-fuel vehicles in a rare moment of loosened regulation. —Bloomberg, Oc Register, 24 Feb. 2026

Rosamund Pike, playing the spirit of loving filthy lucre over life itself, elevates a standard villain through the high timing of her theatrical hauteur. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Nov. 2025

People in Flynn’s gossipy elite media and business circles soon begin to discover his true relationship to the book, which threatens both his hopes for lucre and his intellectual bona fides. —Randy Boyagoda, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2024

At investment banks, such lucre may not be quite as abundant as when formal training programs were set up as a gateway into private partnerships. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 28 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin lucrum "material gain, profit," going back to Indo-European *lh₂u-tló- "seizure, gain," from *leh₂u- "seize, capture" + *-tlo-, noun suffix, typically of instruments; *leh₂u- also in Greek apolaúein "to benefit (from), have pleasure or enjoyment," leíā, Doric lāíā "plunder, spoil," Germanic *launa- "recompense, reward" (see guerdon)

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lucre

• mucor

Kids Definition

lucre

noun

lu·​cre ˈlü-kər 

: gain in money : profit

also : money sense 1a