earned; earning; earns
1
a
: to receive as return for effort and especially for work done or services rendered
b
: to bring in by way of return
bonds earning 10 percent interest
2
a
: to come to be duly worthy of or entitled or suited to
she earned a promotion
b
: to make worthy of or obtain for
the suggestion earned him a promotion
earner
noun
Examples of earn in a Sentence
Verb (1)
during my teen years I earned pocket money by mowing lawns
you've earned the afternoon off after all that hard work
Recent Examples on the Web
Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 4 Apr. 2026
Respect yourself to earn respect from others.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 4 Apr. 2026
Weirdly, too, John had earned his certification from the same place my father had, the FlightSafety Academy, in Vero Beach, Florida.
—Jeffrey Eugenides, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2026
Gabe Speier earned his second career save despite allowing Mike Trout to score on Jorge Soler's sacrifice fly.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for earn
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Verb
The candidates earned a median annual income of $489,000 from 2021 to 2025, a total that in most cases includes their spouse’s income.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 4 Apr. 2026
Respect yourself to earn respect from others.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 4 Apr. 2026
Weirdly, too, John had earned his certification from the same place my father had, the FlightSafety Academy, in Vero Beach, Florida.
—Jeffrey Eugenides, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2026
Gabe Speier earned his second career save despite allowing Mike Trout to score on Jorge Soler's sacrifice fly.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for earn
Cite this Entry
“Earn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earn. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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