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.
Analysts polled by FactSet are looking for earnings of $7.11 a share, and for adjusted earnings of $9.16 a share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
“We may be heading into the first earnings season in a long time with more cautious forecasts and expectations,” he noted, which means “room for some meaningful beats.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
The health insurer now expects 2026 adjusted earnings of at least $9.50 a share, up from its previous forecast of at least $9 a share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
As it happens, the stocks in the S&P 400 are, overall, cheaper in relation to earnings than the S&P 500, trading overall at 14 times forecast earnings instead of 18 times.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Eventually, Bobby sent 10 percent of his meager chess earnings to the Church.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
