dues-paying

American  

[dooz-pey-ing, dyooz-] / ˈduzˌpeɪ ɪŋ, ˈdyuz- /

adjective

1. gaining experience, especially by hard and often unpleasant or uncongenial work.

   He spent his dues-paying years as a cocktail pianist.

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noun

1. the act or process of gaining experience, especially slowly and laboriously.

   She had many years of dues-paying before her abilities were recognized.

Etymology

Origin of dues-paying

First recorded in 1860–70

Example Sentences

Huang is a community organizer, minister and dues-paying member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2026

Epstein wasn’t a dues-paying member of the club, but Trump told staff to treat him like one, the employees said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 31, 2025

He told Salon that he and his followers found the club as an organization of just 30 to 40 dues-paying members and left it a club of around 1,800.

From Salon • Jul. 21, 2025

Greene told jurors that he wasn’t a dues-paying member of the Oath Keepers but worked essentially as a contractor, handling security operations.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 9, 2022

She energized the organization and helped to increase the membership from twenty-seven thousand to an astonishing two hundred thousand dues-paying members by 1890.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling