earn
1to gain or get in return for one's labor or service: to earn one's living.
to merit as compensation, as for service; deserve: to receive more than one has earned.
to acquire through merit: to earn a reputation for honesty.
to gain as due return or profit: Savings accounts earn interest.
to bring about or cause deservedly: His fair dealing earned our confidence.
to gain income: securities that earn on a quarterly basis.
Origin of earn
1synonym study For earn
Other words for earn
Other words from earn
- earner, noun
Words that may be confused with earn
- earn , urn
Other definitions for earn (2 of 2)
to grieve.
Origin of earn
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use earn in a sentence
“My dance instructor always says she earns most of her income from private teaching,” says Monir.
Iran’s Becoming a Footloose Nation as Dance Lessons Spread | IranWire | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd so the “Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria” in this number earns it a spot on my list.
Advertising revenue on his YouTube channel earns him an estimated $100,000 a month.
Now he earns millions spouting venom on Fox News about immigrants, women, gays and lesbians, and anyone else.
Arkansas’s Blue Collar Social Conservatives Don’t Know What’s Coming | Monica Potts | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn 2014, any dependent youth who earns more than $6,200 will have to report those earnings to the IRS.
Paying Taxes and Going to Jail Like Adults; Teens Deserve the Right to Vote, Too | Jillian Keenan | October 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It is twice blessed—it blesses him who earns, and those who give, to parody the words of Shakspeare.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamHere's where he earns a little of the money the stockmen have been putting into his newspaper during the last few years.
Mystery Ranch | Arthur ChapmanHer physical powers are vigorous, and she earns her living as a bookbinder.
A Statistical Inquiry Into the Nature and Treatment of Epilepsy | Alexander Hughes BennettThis railroad is going to be honest, if it never earns another net dollar.
The Wreckers | Francis LyndePlay the fine gentleman an' live upon what the rest o' us earns.
Two Little Travellers | Frances Browne Arthur
British Dictionary definitions for earn
/ (ɜːn) /
to gain or be paid (money or other payment) in return for work or service
(tr) to acquire, merit, or deserve through behaviour or action: he has earned a name for duplicity
(tr) (of securities, investments, etc) to gain (interest, return, profit, etc)
Origin of earn
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with earn
In addition to the idioms beginning with earn
- earn one's keep
- earn one's stripes
also see:
- penny saved is a penny earned
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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