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

Commercial aviation is remarkably safe, but that near-pristine safety record was hard-earned. —Whizy Kim, Vox, 3 May 2024

During his time in Queens, Grote developed a tough-nosed reputation where respect was hard-earned. —David Matthews, Hartford Courant, 8 Apr. 2024

Their sense of whimsy and their ability to realize it in metal and stone has been hard-earned through consistent effort, decade after decade—which isn’t an entirely inaccurate definition of the horological arts. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024

Everything feels new and hard-earned and deliberate—and fun. —Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2024

The sentiment that honesty is the best policy is hard-earned for these characters, and is good advice for viewers on the dating circuit who are trying to land a partner for a night — or forever. —Courtney Howard, Variety, 14 Feb. 2024

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