lure

noun

\ ˈlu̇r

Definition of lure

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an object usually of leather or feathers attached to a long cord and used by a falconer to recall or exercise a hawk

2a : an inducement to pleasure or gain : enticement the lure of adventure the lure of her beauty

b : appeal, attraction may succumb to the lure of candy, sodas and other sweets— Cheryl Jennings-Sauer

3 : a decoy for attracting animals to capture: such as

a : artificial bait used for catching fish

b : an often luminous (see luminous sense 1a) structure on the head of pediculate fishes that is used to attract prey

lure

verb

lured; luring

Definition of lure (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to recall or exercise (a hawk) by means of a lure

2 : to draw with a hint of pleasure or gain : attract actively and strongly

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about lure

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Choose the Right Synonym for lure

Verb

lure, entice, inveigle, decoy, tempt, seduce mean to lead astray from one's true course. lure implies a drawing into danger, evil, or difficulty through attracting and deceiving. lured naive investors with get-rich-quick schemes entice suggests drawing by artful or adroit means. advertising designed to entice new customers inveigle implies enticing by cajoling or flattering. fund-raisers inveigling wealthy alumni decoy implies a luring into entrapment by artifice. attempting to decoy the enemy into an ambush tempt implies the presenting of an attraction so strong that it overcomes the restraints of conscience or better judgment. tempted by the offer of money seduce implies a leading astray by persuasion or false promises. seduced by assurances of assistance

Examples of lure in a Sentence

Noun

the promise of easy money is always the lure for some people to take up a life of crime the fish simply didn't seem to like the lure I was using, so I didn't catch a thing

Verb

They lured the bear out of its den. The suburbs are luring middle-class families away from the city. The police lured him back to the scene of the crime. Explorers were lured to the area by tales of a city of gold. An attractive window display can help to lure shoppers into the store.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Leaving the club at this stage would be considered betrayal by Ajax supporters, although the lure of returning to one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League may be hard to refuse. — SI.com, "Report: Van Der Sar on Man United Wishlist as Search for First Director of Football Continues," 8 Sep. 2019 Even for the majority of players, whose prospects of a professional sports career are remote, the lure of playing in championships—in giant stadiums with luxurious training facilities, in front of millions of television viewers—is strong. — Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, "It’s Time for Black Athletes to Leave White Colleges," 5 Sep. 2019 For consumers, the lure of 5G in initial rollouts is video. Streaming 4K movies could become as seamless as streaming music is today on 4G. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "The race for 5G and what you need to know," 23 Aug. 2019 The lure of Los Angeles has long been its quality of life. — Los Angeles Times, "‘I’m not even 30, and I’m flying my own jet’ — Silicon Beach elites take a seat in the cockpit," 21 Aug. 2019 Despite graduating with a law degree in 1927, the lure of the music industry was too great. — Dawn Mitchell, Indianapolis Star, "Dillinger, Dean and more: 12 famous graves in Indiana," 7 Aug. 2019 Interstellar Intimates The lure of Alpha Centauri is easy to understand: For the scientists yearning to find living worlds beyond our own, this system seems almost too good to be true. — Corey S. Powell, Scientific American, "The Hunt Is on for Alpha Centauri’s Planets," 5 Aug. 2019 The lure of a tax break now is more powerful than the long-term goal of having enough retirement savings. — NBC News, "What's a Roth 401(k)? The other employer-based retirement plan that lets your savings grow tax free," 15 July 2019 The lure for some of the scientists was Epstein’s money. — Matthew Goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, "Jeffrey Epstein, surrounded by scientific luminaries, hoped to seed the human race with his DNA," 31 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Even 30 years after the last shot of the Civil War was fired, the Gettysburg battlefield continued to lure visitors from Carroll County and elsewhere. — Mary Ann Ashcraft, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Carroll Yesteryears: Summer options in the late-1800s included popular camp meetings in Linwood," 8 Sep. 2019 Amazon initially announced a separate second headquarters in New York City, but withdrew amid political pressure over subsidies the state had offered to lure the company. — Allan Smith, NBC News, "King of The Hill: How Amazon and Jeff Bezos made Washington a second home," 6 Sep. 2019 The school has set some traps to lure the snake back into captivity. — USA TODAY, "Rare elephant calf, two-headed rattlesnake, another quake off Oregon: News from around our 50 states," 6 Sep. 2019 But there’s little to lure the state’s shrinking Republican base to the polls. — Ben Christopher, The Mercury News, "Bluer than blue: Are California Democrats ready to exploit a possible lopsided primary turnout?," 3 Sep. 2019 Step 1a: Lock up the right side, luring James from Miami with the sweetest free-agent contract ever bestowed upon an NFL right tackle — at least until word got out that Oakland handed Trent Brown a 4-year, $66-million deal. — Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, "Why Ja’Wuan James’ $51-million contract with the Broncos is worth every penny," 2 Sep. 2019 Still, some silver-lining numbers exist for Del Mar. The successful ship-and-win program — bonus-money incentives to lure horses from other states — has spiked 14 percent. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: So far, Del Mar survives summer under horse-racing microscope," 2 Sep. 2019 That represents an opportunity: Activision Blizzard is betting on nostalgia to bring back some older players and to lure new ones. — Shannon Liao, CNN, "'World of Warcraft Classic' draws on gaming nostalgia," 27 Aug. 2019 As companies lure many of them back to work, the strain on that previously fragile Social Security program has eased. — Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, "Other voices: The years America went to work," 25 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.