Lucrative

lucrative

adjective lu·cra·tive \ˈlü-krə-tiv\

: producing money or wealth

Full Definition of LUCRATIVE

: producing wealth : profitable

— lu·cra·tive·ly adverb

— lu·cra·tive·ness noun

See lucrative defined for English-language learners

See lucrative defined for kids

Examples of LUCRATIVE

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

First Known Use: 15th century