- to gain or be paid (money or other payment) in return for work or service
- (transitive) to acquire, merit, or deserve through behaviour or action
- (transitive) (of securities, investments, etc) to gain (interest, return, profit, etc)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
earn1 /ɜrn/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to receive in return for one's labor or service: to earn a living as a waiter.
- to deserve;
to merit (something) as a reward for service:He had earned a reputation for honesty.
earn1
(ûrn),USA pronunciation v.t.
v.i.
earn′er, n.
earn2 (ûrn),USA pronunciation v.i. [Obs.]
- to gain or get in return for one's labor or service:to earn one's living.
- to merit as compensation, as for service;
deserve:to receive more than one has earned. - to acquire through merit:to earn a reputation for honesty.
- to gain as due return or profit:Savings accounts earn interest.
- to bring about or cause deservedly:His fair dealing earned our confidence.
v.i.
- to gain income:securities that earn on a quarterly basis.
- bef. 900; Middle English ern(i)en, Old English earnian; akin to Old High German arnēn to earn, harvest
- 1. procure, make, receive, obtain. See gain 1.
earn2 (ûrn),USA pronunciation v.i. [Obs.]
- to grieve.
- perh. variant of yearn 1570–80
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
earn /ɜːn/ vb (earns, earning, earned, earnt)
'earning' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
creditworthy
- earn
- meritorious
- NYLON
- payload
- remunerative
- salaried
- self-employed
- street
- water
- arriviste
- blue-collar
- bourgeoisie
- earnings
- factor
- gin
- honors course
- inception
- joker
- lurk
- minimum wage
- money-market certificate
- occupation
- pretax
- task
- work
- score
- screever