profiteering

noun

prof·​i·​teer·​ing ˌprä-fə-ˈtir-iŋ How to pronounce profiteering (audio)
: the act or activity of making an unreasonable profit on the sale of essential goods especially during times of emergency
… investigations unearthed information about industrial profiteering during the First World War …Thomas E. Ricks
The real estate culture in Florida had pushed profiteering to new levels, in large part because of its condominium economy.Paul Reyes

Examples of profiteering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That means capping legal fees for predatory lawyers, blocking hedge funds from buying subrogation rights, and limiting third-party profiteering. Adam Kovacevich, Oc Register, 18 Aug. 2025 The resulting report is the most thorough accounting yet of the extent of the profiteering by the First Family. David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025 Food, in his government’s analysis, had become a weapon used by Hamas to sustain its fighters, reward loyalty, and replenish its armaments through black-market profiteering. Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2025 His family’s worldwide profiteering and his own cryptocurrency ventures reflect a staggering assumption of impunity. 1933 and 2025 — a comparison America was despairing when FDR took office in March 1933. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for profiteering

Word History

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of profiteering was in 1814

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Cite this Entry

“Profiteering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profiteering. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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