earmark
Americannoun
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any identifying or distinguishing mark or characteristic.
The mayor's statement had all the earmarks of dirty politics.
-
a mark of identification made on the ear of an animal to show ownership.
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a provision in a piece of Congressional legislation that directs specified federal funds to specific projects, programs, organizations, or individuals.
Lawmakers requested almost 40,000 earmarks worth more than $100 billion directed to their home districts and states.
verb (used with object)
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earmarks,
present (3rd person singular)
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earmarked,
past participle, past
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earmarking
present participle
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to set aside for a specific purpose, use, recipient, etc..
to earmark goods for export.
-
to mark with an earmark.
verb
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to set aside or mark out for a specific purpose
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to make an identification mark on the ear of (a domestic animal)
noun
-
a mark of identification on the ear of a domestic animal
-
any distinguishing mark or characteristic
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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earmarksimple
-
earmarkssimple
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have earmarkedperfect
-
has earmarkedperfect
-
am earmarkingprogressive
-
are earmarkingprogressive
-
is earmarkingprogressive
-
have been earmarkingperfect progressive
-
has been earmarkingperfect progressive
Past
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earmarkedsimple
-
had earmarkedperfect
-
was earmarkingprogressive
-
were earmarkingprogressive
-
had been earmarkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of earmark
Explanation
To earmark something is to set it aside for a specific purpose. If you’re saving money to spend it in a particular way — whether it’s for college or a fancy new pair of shoes — you have earmarked that money. Originally, an earmark was a mark on the ear of an animal — such as a sheep — that indicated ownership. Similarly, when government officials earmark a resource, they're indicating what the resource will be used for. Earmarking is usually about money. $10,000 could be earmarked for cancer research. A grant could be earmarked for a children's hospital. Earmarking is a way of stating how something will be used.
Vocabulary lists containing earmark
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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.
See Examples For:
The mayor urged the culture ministry to earmark substantial funding to better protect France's museums.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
This source was advising a Maine foundation on how to request an earmark.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Based on its market share, analysts calculate that the bank could face an up to 2.0 billion-pound total charge and will need to earmark more cash to cover the difference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
Tucked in a $10 billion climate bond on the November ballot is an earmark to improve drinking water quality for communities such as East Orosi.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2024
Anderson used his power to earmark municipal funds to clean up the Black Belt’s crumbling sewers and streets.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
That means that Collins’ position atop the Appropriations Committee, and the hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks that come with it, is both a carrot and a stick.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Could it become tricky to find votes in the Senedd for a budget if Plaid earmarks cash for that exercise?
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
Yet the bills showered $8 billion in earmarks on members’ home districts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
The April 2025 sale of an IonQ system to a Chattanooga, Tenn., municipal power company, says Wolfpack, was funded two-thirds by IonQ itself, and one-third by the federal earmarks of a Tennessee congressman.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
She might have to take them on a train, and she couldn’t ride on a train with her clothing torn, it was one of the earmarks of the fugitive.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has since earmarked more than half a trillion dollars for the armed forces over the next decade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
BBC News has learned that the number of cots in the units earmarked for intensive care has not yet increased as planned.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Nicole Higginbotham, a bookstore owner in Rock Hill, S.C., and her husband, Luke, have a high-yield savings account earmarked for pet expenses.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
It could generate $360 million per year, with about $80 million of that earmarked yearly for Tijuana River improvements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
He had never before spent a needless penny, since all money had been earmarked for his bookstore.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the legislature, with a significant budget surplus, began earmarking even more funds, leading to a peak of $1.1 billion in wildfire mitigation investments during the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
At the U.N., the Trump administration has begun to channel aid money through a single department established to manage emergencies, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, earmarking $3.8 billion so far.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
The company, according to Reuters, is earmarking as much as 30% of shares for retail investors and scheduling a meeting with 1,500 of them at an event in June, once its IPO roadshow kicks off.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
In the Budget it said it would raise the age limit to cover under-25s, earmarking £725m for the scheme over the next three years.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
Was its significance of general knowledge amongst printers and readers, or was it an earmarking device used by one person, or by a Society?
From The Mystery of Francis Bacon by William T. Smedley
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.
