define lucre is a short search that returns an old, slightly theatrical word and a surprising moral weight. People type define lucre when they want a quick answer, but the full story pulls in history, religion, and modern usage. Curious? Good. There is more to this tiny word than you might expect.
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What Does Define Lucre Mean?
The phrase define lucre usually means you want the definition of the noun lucre. Lucre refers to money, especially money regarded with contempt or gained dishonorably. It often carries a moral tag. When someone says filthy lucre, they mean money earned or used in a way that feels corrupt or base.
Etymology and Origin of Define Lucre
People who search define lucre often expect a Latin origin. They would be right. Lucre comes from Latin lucrum, which simply meant profit or gain. Over centuries, the word picked up moral overtones in English, especially in religious and moral writings.
The phrase filthy lucre appears in the King James Bible, and that biblical echo helped fix the negative sense. For etymological details see the Online Etymology Dictionary and the entry at Merriam-Webster.
How Define Lucre Is Used in Everyday Language
Type define lucre and you will find formal definitions, but real speech shows variety. Some people use lucre jokingly, as in playful grumbling about money. Others use it seriously, to condemn greed.
1. ‘He chased lucre instead of beauty, and the town lost him.’
2. ‘They returned the filthy lucre confiscated in the scandal.’
3. ‘If you only work for lucre, you will burn out.’
4. ‘The novel skewers the pursuit of lucre in the gilded age.’
Those examples show lucre used in literary, legal, and informal registers. It is compact, a little old-fashioned, and often rhetorical.
Define Lucre in Different Contexts
When you ask to define lucre in a legal or financial setting, the tone changes. There it is plain: money, profit, gain. No moral judgment is required. A contract might mention illicit lucre in a report, meaning money obtained illegally.
In religious or ethical discussions, to define lucre is to point to temptation. Preachers warning against the love of lucre mean the excessive desire for wealth. The phrase filthy lucre explicitly condemns the moral taint attached to certain kinds of profit.
In literature, writers use lucre for flavor. It evokes older speech, biblical echoes, and a kind of moral scorn that ‘money’ alone does not deliver.
Common Misconceptions About Define Lucre
One misconception when people ask to define lucre is they think it always means illegal money. Not true. Lucre can be perfectly legal income. The negative sense depends on context and tone. The phrase filthy lucre is the clearest example of contempt, but lucre by itself is neutral in origin.
Another mistake is assuming lucre is modern slang. It is not. It is older than many modern financial terms, and it survived because of its moral and literary punch.
Related Words and Phrases
Words related to lucre include gain, profit, proceeds, and wealth. Phrases to know are filthy lucre, ill-gotten lucre, and blood money. Each adds nuance. Filthy lucre condemns the source or use. Ill-gotten suggests illegality. Blood money adds a violent stain.
For dictionary crosschecks see Wikipedia on lucre and the Oxford-adjacent entry at Lexico.
Why Define Lucre Matters in 2026
In 2026, conversations about money, ethics, and power are everywhere. When you define lucre now, you are not just learning a word. You are learning how language frames moral judgment about money. Debates over corporate profits, political donations, and technology windfalls often hinge on whether people call gains ‘legitimate’ or ‘lucre’.
Journalists, activists, and writers sometimes choose lucre when they want to signal disapproval without spelling out legal details. The word compresses a moral stance into one tidy syllable, and that economy matters in headlines and opinion writing.
Closing
If you type define lucre expecting a one-line answer, fine. You will get it. But knowing why the word carries its particular weight makes its use smarter and more precise. Lucre is money, yes, and it is also a linguistic shortcut to judgment.
Use it sparingly, use it deliberately, and it will do the rhetorical work you need. For more word histories and plainspoken definitions, see related pages at AZDictionary etymology and AZDictionary money terms. Curious about moral language? Try AZDictionary ethical terms.