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
Words Nearby earn
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
Since that day, I have tried to do everything in my power to work and earn your respect and try and make you proud on and off the field.
J.J. Watt will be released by Houston Texans at his request | Mark Maske | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostShackelford graduated from West Potomac High School in 1992 and earned a degree in poetry four years later from East Carolina University.
Tiffany Shackelford, 46, was known as a unique, fun ‘force’ to friends, family | Dana Hedgpeth | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostMy job is to pump up one balloon at a time and earn as much money as possible.
Auditors are testing hiring algorithms for bias, but there’s no easy fix | Amy Nordrum | February 11, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewFrance has earned the most Academy Award nominations for best international feature film and classics like Amélie, The Artist, or The Intouchables have turned into mainstream hits.
For instance, if an established website like Forbes links to a value-added blog you wrote a few months ago, you’ll earn a high-quality backlink.
A small business’ step-by-step guide to dominating local search in 2021 | Joseph Dyson | February 10, 2021 | Search Engine Watch
The brokers then scout out potential “crew members” who can earn substantial discounts for working the journey.
It was never intended to do anything as vulgar as actually earn money.
The Bookstore That Bewitched Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and Greta Garbo | Felice Picano | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“This is a job I knew I had to earn,” he said in an interview.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired. | David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf she played enough—and she planned to—she would earn them a “free” night in the hotel.
I Watched a Casino Kill Itself: The Awful Last Nights of Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal | Olivia Nuzzi | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOthers earn our admiration because they belong more to a particular moment.
Renaissance Man Jared Leto Defies Categorization | The Daily Beast | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTwenty dollars a month is the salary, and school keeps for six months, so I shall earn the large sum of $120 a year.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydRobert is very well in a way, to give up all the money he can earn to the family, and keep the barest pittance for himself.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinEvery man will still earn his own living and that of his family as best he can, relying first and foremost upon his own efforts.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockHe intends that he shall take the name of Arden, and earn the transmission of the title, or the distinction of a greater one.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuThey justly earn it, and are rightly pleased with it; but I cannot feel sure whether they do not depend on it too much.
The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
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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