逐利 literally means 'to chase profit' — 逐 (zhú) means 'to pursue, to chase', and 利 (lì) means 'profit, benefit'. Together, they form a compact, slightly formal or literary verb expressing the active, often single-minded pursuit of financial gain. It carries neutral-to-slightly-negative connotations depending on context: while it can describe ordinary business motivation, it frequently appears in critiques of excessive commercialism, short-term thinking, or ethical compromise for monetary advantage.

The term is common in written Chinese — especially in news reports, economic commentary, policy discussions, and classical or semi-classical expressions — but less frequent in casual daily speech. It often appears in set phrases like 逐利忘义 ('pursue profit and forget morality') or in compound structures such as 逐利行为 ('profit-seeking behavior'). As a two-character verb, it typically functions as a predicate or nominalized subject/object when paired with 的, e.g., 逐利的动机.