earn

tr.v., earned, earn·ing, earns.

1. To gain especially for the performance of service, labor, or work: earned money by mowing lawns.
2. To acquire or deserve as a result of effort or action: She earned a reputation as a hard worker.
3. To yield as return or profit: a savings account that earns interest on deposited funds.

idiom:

earn (one's) spurs (or stripes)

1. To gain a position through hard work and the accumulation of experience, often in the face of difficulties.

[Middle English ernen, from Old English earnian.]

earner earn'er n.

SYNONYMS   earn, deserve, merit, rate, win. These verbs mean to gain as a result of one's behavior or effort: earns a large salary; deserves our congratulations; a suggestion that merits consideration; an event that rates a mention in the news; a candidate who won wide support.

earn² (ûrn)
intr.v. Obsolete, earned, earn·ing, earns.
To yearn.

[Middle English ernen, variant of yernen. See yearn.]

verb

1. To receive, as wages, for one's labor: gain, get, make, win. Informal pull down. Idioms: earnmakea living, earn one's keep. See give/take/reciprocity, money.
2. To acquire as a result of one's behavior or effort: deserve, gain, get, merit, win. Informal rate¹. See get/lose.
3. To make as income or profit: bring in, clear, draw, gain, gross, net², pay, produce, realize, repay, return, yield. See money.

Idioms beginning with earn:
earn one's keep
earn one's stripes
earnest

See also penny saved is a penny earned.

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v

Definition: make money
Antonyms: cost, lose, spend, throw away

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IN BRIEF: To receive as pay for work done; to deserve or win because of hard work or good behavior; to get as profit.

Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors. — Louisa May Alcott, American novelist and writer.

Tutor's tip: She wanted to "earn" (to receive payment for one's labor) praise by carving an "erne" (a European eagle) into the marble "urn" (a vase used as a receptacle for cremated ashes).

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Common misspelling(s) of earned

• earnt

Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. tr. - tjene, indbringe, fortjene, erhverve

idioms:

• earn a crust    tjene til føden
• earn a living    tjene til livets ophold
• earn one's bread    tjene sit brød
• nice little earner    fed fidus

2.
v. intr. - tjene

Nederlands (Dutch)
verdienen, verwerven

Français (French)
1.
v. tr. - gagner (de l'argent), toucher (un salaire), (Fin) rapporter (des intérêts), mériter

idioms:

• earn a crust    gagner sa croûte
• earn a living    gagner sa vie
• earn one's bread    gagner son pain
• nice little earner    bonne affaire, ça rapporte bien

2.
v. intr. - se chagriner, s'affliger, languir/soupirer pour ou après qch (arch)

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - einbringen, verdienen

idioms:

• earn a crust    sich (unter Schwierigkeiten) den Lebensunterhalt verdienen
• earn a living    seinen Lebensunterhalt verdienen
• earn one's bread    sein Brot verdienen
• nice little earner    bei wenig Aufwand großen Profit abwerfen

2.
v. - (Baseball) durch eigene Leistung erzielen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - κερδίζω, βγάζω, κατακτώ, αποκτώ

idioms:

• earn a crust    βγάζω το κατιτί μου, βγάζω το ψωμάκι μου
• earn a living    βγάζω τα προς το ζην
• earn one's bread    βγάζω τα προς το ζην
• nice little earner    επικερδής επιχείρηση ή απασχόληση

Italiano (Italian)
ottenere, guadagnare

idioms:

• earn a crust    guadagnare poco
• nice little earner    un lavoro lucrativo

Português (Portuguese)
v. - merecer, ganhar

idioms:

• earn a crust    ganhar uns tostões
• earn one's bread    ganhar o pão de cada dia
• nice little earner    fábrica de dinheiro

Русский (Russian)
зарабатывать, заслуживать

idioms:

• earn a crust    скудно зарабатывать
• earn one's bread    заработать себе на хлеб
• nice little earner    легкий доход

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. tr. - trabajar, ganarse la vida, ganar, merecer

idioms:

• earn a crust    ganarse la vida
• earn a living    ganarse la vida
• earn one's bread    ganarse el pan
• nice little earner    entrada de dinero sin mucho esfuerzo

2.
v. intr. - afligirse

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förtjäna, förvärva, få

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 赚得, 挣得, 使得到, 使赢得, 博得, 赢得

idioms:

• earn a crust    钱赚的少
• earn a living    谋生
• earn one's bread    谋生
• nice little earner    很好卖的东西

2. 赚得, 博得, 获得

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. intr. - 賺得, 博得, 獲得

2.
v. tr. - 賺得, 掙得, 使得到, 使贏得, 博得, 贏得

idioms:

• earn a crust    錢賺的少
• earn a living    謀生
• earn one's bread    謀生
• nice little earner    很好賣的東西

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. tr. - 벌다, 받을 만 하다, 낳다

2.
v. intr. - 수입이 생기다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 稼ぐ, 得る, 獲得する, 生じる, …に…をもたらす

idioms:

• earn a crust    生計を得る
• earn one's bread    生計を立てる
• earn one's spurs    拍車をかける

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يجني, يكسب, يستحق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הרוויח‬
v. intr. - ‮היה זכאי ל-, היה ראוי ל-‬

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