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earning

verb

present participle of earn
1
as in winning
to receive as return for effort during my teen years I earned pocket money by mowing lawns

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deserving
to be or make worthy of (as a reward or punishment) you've earned the afternoon off after all that hard work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of earning Students kick off the two-year capstone by earning their Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10 card, a basic safety training program that serves as a common prerequisite for unionized construction jobs. — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2026 His feature directorial debut unspooled in front of a packed house at the festival, earning a long, jubilant standing ovation. — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 25 Sep. 2026 Tampa finished in first and with the best record in the AL this season, earning themselves a postseason bye. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026 The Scottish actor plays MI5 agent River Cartwright in the Apple TV+ series, earning two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for the role. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 25 Sep. 2026 The Gators outlasted Auburn 44-39, clearing a crucial hurdle for Sumrall in earning his first SEC victory at the helm. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026 The Dotcom Bubble burst was because of a multitude of reasons, mostly unrealistic valuations for many tech businesses earning zero profits. — Sean Conlon, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026 The greatest value now comes from turning conversations into strategy—earning executive trust, spotting unmet opportunities and orchestrating partnerships that create lasting competitive advantage. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026 The single stayed on the Hot 100 for over a year, and the album went gold, earning earned him a Grammy nomination for male pop vocal performance. — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earning
  1. winning
  2. deserving
  3. gaining
  4. garnering
  5. reaping
  6. making
  7. obtaining
  8. getting
Verb
  • Whilst Black was first a BBC Three pilot and then greenlit to full series, becoming one of the BBC’s most critically-rated of recent years and winning BAFTAs.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Dozens of people applied for a NO SMOG plate, and Reagan had to pluck the winning application out of a hat.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of winning
Verb
  • The cohost made sure to add that Donda West is more than deserving of the honor.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Also set up as an equal gift of more than $800,000, this scholarship began providing education assistance to deserving Roanoke grads beginning with the class of 2018.
    — Jennie Key, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of deserving
Verb
  • After a weekend of alarming headlines about AI mishaps, public sector breaches, and agents gaining unauthorized access to outside systems, tech and AI CEOs are descending on Washington yet again this week.
    — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • For front doors, these colors have a historically charming appeal that designers see gaining traction.
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of gaining
Verb
  • The article went viral, garnering pushback from the LGBT community over how it was covered and more attention to the LGBT bar itself from conservative pundits, who questioned why the bar still had a mask mandate.
    — Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The fundraiser currently has 498 donations, garnering over $22,000 in just two weeks.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of garnering
Verb
  • Victim of its own success However, the fact that demand for Novo’s products—and production—abroad is so massive means that its domestic economy isn’t reaping all the benefits.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The tech sector of the S&P 500 has seen its forward price/earnings multiple contract from 29 to 21 in the past year with the market unwilling to extrapolate the profit surge in the absence of a clear path back to reaping oodles of free cash flow.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of reaping
Verb
  • Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand and the two countries can contribute to each other's success, thereby benefiting the wider world.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
  • But his collaborators helped turn Beck into a cultural product, making videos, shooting photos, providing musical inspiration for samples.
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of making
Verb
  • The legislation followed growing complaints that brokers were obtaining reservations at Los Angeles municipal courses and reselling them, often advertising slots through social media, including the Korean messaging app KakaoTalk.
    — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Prosecutors say Rivera and his former wife transferred their interest to his sister without obtaining that permission.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of obtaining
Verb
  • But when her character — saucy British writer Constance Clavinger — turns out to be a handful (getting drunk at the airport bar, for starters), Homer struggles to get her to the school on time.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
  • As a girl growing up in the 1970s, Griffin recalls how her parents and other neighbors in the two-street patch of homes did not let their children play at the nearby Fannie Robinson Park after some of them started developing rashes or getting sick.
    — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of getting

Browse Nearby Words

earnestness
earning
earnings
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Cite this Entry

“Earning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earning. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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