earn

[ urn ]

/ ɜrn /

verb (used with object)

to 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.

verb (used without object)

to gain income: securities that earn on a quarterly basis.

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Origin of earn

before 900; Middle English ern(i)en, Old English earnian; akin to Old High German arnēn to earn, harvest

SYNONYMS FOR earn

1 procure, make, receive, obtain. See gain¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM earn

earn·er, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH earn

earn urn

Words nearby earn

early wood, early-type star, early-warning system, earmark, earmuff, earn, earn one's keep, earn one's stripes, earned income, earned run, earned run average

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for earner

Thanks to the presence of blackface and KKK costumes, her offensive fete went viral and earner her instant infamy.
Why It’s Time to End Blackface, Finally|Soraya Roberts|October 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For a $50,000 earner, that meant paying $1,000 a year less in payroll taxes.
Michael Tomasky: GOP Is Set to Self-Destruct Over Payroll Tax|Michael Tomasky|November 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A $50,000 earner (married, filing separately, as all these examples will be) pays 17.25 percent.
Perry's Ridiculous Tax Plan|Michael Tomasky|October 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It was more expensive, but it was quicker; and what did a few dollars matter, now that he was the husband of such an earner?
We Can't Have Everything|Rupert Hughes

Charlie's voice, drink-thickened, harsh, came from a earner of the room into which she could not see until she moved nearer.
Big Timber|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Round the earner from his lodgings on a side street and in darkness, stood a big car with the motor puffing violently.
Civilization|Ellen Newbold La Motte
Efter en god Avler kommer en god Oder—After 40 an earner comes a waster.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
But to take the earner, is compound, superlative, perpetual theft.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus|American Anti-Slavery Society

British Dictionary definitions for earner (1 of 2)

earner

/ (ˈɜːnə) /

noun

a person who earns money

British and Australian informal an activity or thing that produces income, esp illicitlya nice little earner

British Dictionary definitions for earner (2 of 2)

earn

/ (ɜːn) /

verb

to gain or be paid (money or other payment) in return for work or service

(tr) to acquire, merit, or deserve through behaviour or actionhe has earned a name for duplicity

(tr) (of securities, investments, etc) to gain (interest, return, profit, etc)

Word Origin for earn

Old English earnian; related to Old High German arnēn to reap, Old Saxon asna salary, tithe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with earner

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