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.
The earnings report may help ease investors’ concerns about the company’s long-term trajectory.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
Broadcom’s revenue guidance, despite an earnings beat, disappointed investors, leading to wider chip stock declines.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
One reason shares might not have gotten a big boost is earnings estimates.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
Morgan’s 2027 earnings estimates for Tesla decreased, with valuation deemed ‘lofty’ ahead of 2028 earnings growth.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
He rose at two-thirty to run a three-hour paper route, and deposited ail his earnings in the bank, which would swallow every penny when the Depression hit.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
