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.
Many disagree, arguing that aggressive expectations for earnings growth can in part justify the parabolic move higher in semiconductor names and other hot stocks.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026
Looking ahead, the software company expects fiscal second-quarter earnings of 17 cents a share to 18 cents a share on revenue totaling between $272 million and $274 million.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
GitLab posted adjusted earnings of 23 cents a share for the quarter ended April 30, compared with 17 cents a share a year ago and slightly above Wall Street’s call for 21 cents a share.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Investors had the impression that Alphabet would keep funding its huge capital expenditures—slated to total $180 billion to $190 billion this year—from earnings and new debt.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
When he added in his earnings from Wednesday and Thursday, he had one hundred and three dollars and eleven cents.
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.
