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 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.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!