earnings
Americannoun
plural noun
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money or other payment earned
-
the profits of an enterprise
Etymology
Origin of earnings
before 1050; Middle English erning, Old English earning, earnung merit, pay. See earn 1, -ing 1, -s 3
Explanation
Earnings are the amount of money you make from doing a job. You'll be a lot more excited about babysitting when you learn your earnings will be more than generous. Most earnings come from work that you've done, although money you earn from an investment can also be called earnings. Any financial profit or gain you make go into the earnings category, since you earn that money, whether through work, luck, or intelligence. The Proto-Germanic root, *aznon, means "do harvest work."
Vocabulary lists containing earnings
One Idea, Part 1
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Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 11-14
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Many companies would continue to release earnings statements quarterly—but not the more involved regulatory filings—even if U.S. authorities approve an option to file only semiannually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Eyes will now be on the release of earnings this week from retail titans Walmart, Home Depot and Target, which could give a clearer view of consumer sentiment.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
However, in commentary published at the end of last week, Snider and colleagues also note that the “impact of AI adoption on corporate earnings still appears narrow.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
An AI review of earnings transcripts since 2010 by the Wall Street research firm AlphaSense found that Moynihan uses a “distinct mix” of “highly obscure vocabulary” and “sophisticated” corporate terminology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Without looking for thanks or praise, he quietly added his earnings to the pig, which we named Oz.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
