earnings
Americannoun
plural noun
-
money or other payment earned
-
the profits of an enterprise
Etymology
Origin of earnings
before 1050; Middle English erning, Old English earning, earnung merit, pay. See earn 1, -ing 1, -s 3
Explanation
Earnings are the amount of money you make from doing a job. You'll be a lot more excited about babysitting when you learn your earnings will be more than generous. Most earnings come from work that you've done, although money you earn from an investment can also be called earnings. Any financial profit or gain you make go into the earnings category, since you earn that money, whether through work, luck, or intelligence. The Proto-Germanic root, *aznon, means "do harvest work."
Vocabulary lists containing earnings
One Idea, Part 1
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Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 11-14
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In October, the median analyst expected earnings of $19 a share in 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
In the past, the norm was that when earnings expectations rose a lot, shareholders got very excited, and shares rose even more, so the stock was more highly valued.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
Of course, as private citizens, the couple are not required to declare their earnings publicly, nor to account for their every move.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
On social media sites such as Reddit and Facebook, gig workers have posted about how the higher gas prices are eating into their earnings.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026
Granny had serious doubts about being able to see them go any further, for the cost of black education had risen dramatically, and her earnings from gardening had not.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
