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
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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.
Schafer noted that Netskope’s mixed earnings were a beat on revenue and margins, but net-new annual recurring revenue was modest and underperformed elevated Wall Street expectations.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
He will pay a $2.5 million fine, which is best understood as an attempt to deny Mr. Bolton the earnings from the book.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
So, every week when we publish the list of potential post-earnings moves, the stocks show this sawtooth pattern surrounding past earnings dates.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
And the first-quarter earnings season—the strongest in five years—is largely complete and likely already reflected in stock prices.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
Then, before beginning the long, hot haul back to his house, he found an empty spot on a shaded bench and pulled his earnings out of his pockets.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
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.
