earnings
Americannoun
plural noun
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 11-14
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
Micron’s earnings have been growing exponentially as the company cashes in on artificial-intelligence demand, which has sent prices for its memory-chip offerings soaring.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 21, 2026
On Coke’s most recent earnings call, the discussion focused on cherry-flavored drinks, World Cup marketing and growth in the Asia Pacific region.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026
The end of June once marked a virtual dead period for noteworthy corporate earnings, as key companies had delivered their quarterly results weeks or months before.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 21, 2026
That is particularly important in the technology and pharmaceutical industries, where companies can shift intellectual property across borders and concentrate earnings abroad so shareholders gain and the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026
Keep in mind that these results reflect only a child’s early test scores, a useful but fairly narrow measurement; poor testing in early childhood isn’t necessarily a great harbinger of future earnings, creativity, or happiness.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
