1. To earn unreasonably large gains by exploiting shortages, urgent need, or other unfair advantages.
2. Someone who earns unreasonably large gains by taking unfair advantage of circumstances.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- profiteer from shortages
- profiteer during a crisis
On the page
Some suppliers profiteered from the shortage while others held prices steady.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- profiteer
- Past tense
- profiteered
- Past participle
- profiteered
- Present participle
- profiteering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- profiteer
- Present continuous
- am/is/are profiteering
- Present perfect
- have/has profiteered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been profiteering
- Past
- profiteered
- Past continuous
- was/were profiteering
- Past perfect
- had profiteered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been profiteering
- Future
- will profiteer
- Future continuous
- will be profiteering
- Future perfect
- will have profiteered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been profiteering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: economics / business / social science. Forms: profiteer; profiteers; profiteered; profiteered; profiteering. Noun singular profiteer; plural profiteers. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: profiteers.
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