1
: a mark of identification on the ear of an animal
2
: a distinguishing mark
all the earmarks of poverty
3
: a provision in Congressional legislation that allocates a specified amount of money for a specific project, program, or organization
earmarked; earmarking; earmarks
1
a
: to mark (livestock) with an earmark
b
: to mark in a distinguishing manner
2
: to designate (something, such as funds) for a specific use or owner
money earmarked for education
Examples of earmark in a Sentence
Verb
The project uses funds that had been earmarked for education.
the earnings from my second job have been earmarked for a down payment on a car
Recent Examples on the Web
Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 5 Jan. 2026
The incident has the earmarks of the kind of thing that, in those days, the police did not bother to investigate.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2025
Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
The bill didn’t specify how CT Next was to use the money, but emails obtained by the CT Mirror show lawmakers, including Ritter, the House Speaker, earmarked the money for the Upper Albany Merchant’s Association, which operates under a nonprofit called Upper Albany Main Street.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for earmark
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The package also includes just over $3 billion in community project funding, or earmarks, requested for House lawmakers’ home states.
—Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 5 Jan. 2026
The incident has the earmarks of the kind of thing that, in those days, the police did not bother to investigate.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2025
Verb
With proceeds earmarked for the Altadena Builds Back Foundation, A Concert for Altadena will feature Dawes along with acts including Stephen Stills, Lord Huron, Aloe Blacc, Rufus Wainwright, Lucius, Jenny Lewis and Brandon Flowers of the Killers.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
The bill didn’t specify how CT Next was to use the money, but emails obtained by the CT Mirror show lawmakers, including Ritter, the House Speaker, earmarked the money for the Upper Albany Merchant’s Association, which operates under a nonprofit called Upper Albany Main Street.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for earmark
Cite this Entry
“Earmark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earmark. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
earmark
1 of 2 noun
ear·mark
ˈi(ə)r-ˌmärk 
1
: a mark of identification on the ear of an animal
2
: a mark or quality by which something can be identified
the earmarks of success
earmark
2 of 2 verb1
: to mark with or as if with an earmark
2
: to set aside for a special purpose
money earmarked for a vacation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share