lure

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lure¹

  • /lʊə/ UK
  • /lɔː/ UK
  • /ljʊə/ UK
  • /ljɔː/ UK
  • /lɵː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /loː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ləː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /lɜː/ Norfolk
  • /lʉː.ə/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /lʊɚ/ Canada, US
  • [lʊɚ] ~ [lʊɹ̩] Canada, US
  • /loɹ/ Canada, US
  • /lɝ/ Canada, US
  • /ˈlʉɾ/ Scotland
  • [lʉːɾ] Scotland

Sounds like lore (some speakers with the pour–poor merger), law (non-rhotic, pour–poor merger) · Rhymes with -ʊə(ɹ), -ɔː(ɹ), -ɜː(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Anglo-Norman lure, from Old French loirre (Modern French leurre), from Frankish *lōþr, from Proto-Germanic *lōþr-, perhaps ultimately related to *laþō (“invitation, calling”), or from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to hide”). Compare English allure, also from Old French. Probably related to German Luder (“bait”).

noun lures

  1. also, figuratively Something that tempts or attracts, especially one with a promise of reward or pleasure. How many have with a smile made small account Of Beauty and her lures
  2. An artificial bait attached to a fishing line to attract fish. the inch-at-a-time flutter of a surface lure
  3. A bunch of feathers attached to a line, used in falconry to recall the hawk. My Faulcon now is ſharpe and paſſing emptie, / And til ſhe ſtoope ſhe muſt not be full gorg'd, / For then ſhe never lookes upon her lure.
  4. A velvet smoothing brush.

verb lures · luring · lured

  1. transitive To attract by temptation, appeal, or guile. It had been sixteen years since the BBC’s Grace Wyndham Goldie wrote her internal memo about luring him back to make sociological/scientific TV programmes. Now a second note had circulated, from the science department, proposing that he should present the Corporation’s next educative megaseries.

    Similar: entice

  2. transitive To attract fish with a lure.
  3. transitive To recall a hawk with a lure.

lure²

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Icelandic lúðr.

noun lures

  1. alternative Alternative form of lur

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: enticement, tempt, entice, come-on, decoy, hook, sweetener, bait, seduction, temptation, allure, attract, attraction, seduce, attractiveness, glamour

Translations

Every language

noun tempting or attractive object

Españolcebo, curricán, aliciente
中文诱惑物
हिन्दीचारा cārā, प्रलोभन pralobhan
Françaisattrait
DeutschAnlockungsmittel, Lockmittel, Lockung, Lockvogel, Lure, Reiz
Italianoesca, richiamo
Русскийприма́нка primánka
العربيةطُعْم ṭuʕm

noun artificial fishing bait

Españolcebo
中文人造鱼饵
Portuguêsisca
Françaisleurre
DeutschKöder
Italianoesca
Русскийблесна́ blesná
العربيةطُعْم ṭuʕm

verb to entice

日本語誘惑する yūwaku suru, 誘い出す sasoidasu, 誘い込む sasoikomu
中文誘惑 /诱惑 yòuhuò
Portuguêsatrair
Françaisattirer (dans un piège), séduire, leurrer
Deutschanlocken, herlocken, locken, ködern
Italianosedurre, incantare, ammaliare, tentare, adescare
Русскийсоблазня́ть soblaznjátʹ, прима́нивать primánivatʹ, мани́ть manítʹ, завлека́ть zavlekátʹ
العربيةأَغْرَى ʔaḡrā, اِسْتَدْرَجَ istadraja

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MLA

"lure." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lure. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lure. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lure

Chicago

"lure." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lure.

BibTeX
@misc{lure_2026,
  title = {lure},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lure},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}