What does "lucrative" mean?

1. (profitable) producing a lot of money or profit. 2. (worth attacking) describes a target that is very important or useful to destroy in a war.

How do you use "lucrative"?

Often used to describe careers, contracts, deals, or markets.

lucrative

adj.

US //ˈɫukɹətɪv// UK //lˈuːkɹətˌɪv// lu·cra·tive

1 profitable (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Academic

producing a lot of money or profit.

producing a great deal of profit or wealth; highly remunerative.

Example

She left her teaching job to start a lucrative career in software design.

Example

The investment firm identified several lucrative opportunities in emerging markets that had been overlooked by their competitors.

Usage

Often used to describe careers, contracts, deals, or markets.
- profitable
- gainful
- rewarding
- unprofitable
- loss making
2 worth attacking (adj.)
C1 Advanced Technical Formal Science

describes a target that is very important or useful to destroy in a war.

referring to a target whose destruction provides a significant tactical or strategic advantage.

Example

The enemy's supply bridge was a lucrative target for the air force.

Example

Intelligence reports suggested that the fuel depot was a lucrative target, as its destruction would immobilise the entire regional transport network.

Teacher's tip

In this military sense, 'lucrative' does not mean money-making; it means the 'payoff' in terms of damage to the enemy is high.
- valuable
- high value

Origin

Borrowed from French lucratif, from Latin lucrativus (“profitable”), from lucratus, past participle of lucror (“to gain”), from lucrum (“gain”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂w- (“profit, gain”). Compare Spanish lucrar. By surface analysis, lucre + -ative.