hard-earned
adjective
: achieved or acquired through a lot of effort or hard work
Someone stole all her hard-earned money.
a hard-earned victory
Examples of hard-earned in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But the unimaginative offense and a line that struggled to run-block conspired to make sure that so many of Stevenson’s yards were hard-earned.
—
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
Only money hard-earned as a fledgling lawyer can save them all.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2023
For the Coles, their current winning streak was hard-earned.
—Kara Warner, Peoplemag, 21 July 2023
In addition, Eli Smith, Slim Williams, and the rest sealed their narrative with a triumph, however hard-earned.
—David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 9 July 2023
The recognition feels especially hard-earned for the 20 performers who are nominated in the four Tony Awards featured, or supporting acting, categories in part because the competition for those slots is more intense.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 2 June 2023
The retort was hard-earned: The bill McCarthy had negotiated with the White House was well on its way toward becoming law.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2023
That one title was definitely hard-earned.
—Bob Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Apr. 2023
Her homecoming has been hard-earned—rebuilding from the inside out to become the strongest, healthiest version of herself.
—Women's Health, 6 Mar. 2023
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Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
Only money hard-earned as a fledgling lawyer can save them all.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2023
For the Coles, their current winning streak was hard-earned.
—Kara Warner, Peoplemag, 21 July 2023
In addition, Eli Smith, Slim Williams, and the rest sealed their narrative with a triumph, however hard-earned.
—David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 9 July 2023
The recognition feels especially hard-earned for the 20 performers who are nominated in the four Tony Awards featured, or supporting acting, categories in part because the competition for those slots is more intense.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 2 June 2023
The retort was hard-earned: The bill McCarthy had negotiated with the White House was well on its way toward becoming law.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2023
That one title was definitely hard-earned.
—Bob Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Apr. 2023
Her homecoming has been hard-earned—rebuilding from the inside out to become the strongest, healthiest version of herself.
—Women's Health, 6 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard-earned.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hard-earned
Cite this Entry
“Hard-earned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-earned. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
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