# filthy lucre

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/filthy-lucre
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Money, especially if obtained dishonestly.

## Examples

- He cares only about filthy lucre.
- She refuses to touch the filthy lucre earned from selling stolen goods.
- Do you really want to keep that filthy lucre from the gambling ring?
- The politician was accused of accepting bribes, clearly prioritizing filthy lucre over his public duties.
- The whistleblower claimed the company ignored safety rules just to collect more filthy lucre from their illegal exports.
- After the scam was discovered, the lawyer argued that his client never actually touched the filthy lucre himself.
- The greedy landlord ignored the dangerous leaks in the ceiling because he was too busy counting the filthy lucre he took from his poorest tenants.
- The novel explores how the protagonist sacrificed his integrity and reputation in a desperate, lifelong pursuit of filthy lucre.

## Origin

From filthy + lucre, which appears in the Tyndale Bible, and four times in the King James Version of the Bible, as a calque of Ancient Greek αἰσχρόν κέρδος (aiskhrón kérdos) and related terms such as αἰσχροκερδής (aiskhrokerdḗs, “[a person] given to filthy lucre”): see the quotations and Citations:filthy lucre.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.