1
as in winning
to receive as return for effort
during my teen years I earned pocket money by mowing lawns
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Liu surprised fans when retiring a month after earning a bronze medal at the ‘22 World Championships.
—
Elliott Almond, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
Indiana Senate passes under-the-radar provision scrapping 'low-earning' college degrees.
—Evan Frank, IndyStar, 5 Feb. 2026
Gu has cut back on the number of sponsorship deals since Beijing but is earning more than ever off the snow, roughly three times as much as American skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 5 Feb. 2026
That Inter squad would also win two Intercontinental Cups, essentially the world club championship, and in 1967 reach a third European Cup final, losing to Glasgow’s Celtic, earning the name Grande Inter.
—Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
King's work moved Black theater from the margins to the center of American culture, earning him a Tony Honor.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Nationwide, 77% of those earning less than $50,000 a year got money back, compared to 35% of those making over $200,000.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2026
Together, the three developments will bring 378 apartments to Nampa, nearly all reserved for tenants earning 60% or less of the Boise metro’s area median income.
—Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 5 Feb. 2026
Cannon-Grant was well-known in activist circles in Boston, earning numerous awards, including Boston Globe Magazine’s Bostonian of the Year award and a Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us award, both in 2020 amid nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Elliott Almond, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
Indiana Senate passes under-the-radar provision scrapping 'low-earning' college degrees.
—Evan Frank, IndyStar, 5 Feb. 2026
Gu has cut back on the number of sponsorship deals since Beijing but is earning more than ever off the snow, roughly three times as much as American skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 5 Feb. 2026
That Inter squad would also win two Intercontinental Cups, essentially the world club championship, and in 1967 reach a third European Cup final, losing to Glasgow’s Celtic, earning the name Grande Inter.
—Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
King's work moved Black theater from the margins to the center of American culture, earning him a Tony Honor.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Nationwide, 77% of those earning less than $50,000 a year got money back, compared to 35% of those making over $200,000.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2026
Together, the three developments will bring 378 apartments to Nampa, nearly all reserved for tenants earning 60% or less of the Boise metro’s area median income.
—Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 5 Feb. 2026
Cannon-Grant was well-known in activist circles in Boston, earning numerous awards, including Boston Globe Magazine’s Bostonian of the Year award and a Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us award, both in 2020 amid nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earning
Verb
-
Working in Northwest Arkansas since 1990, Tom has been an award-winning reporter, a columnist and city editor and an editorial page editor.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Florida’s season took off from there and reached new heights, ending with a 12-game winning streak and the school’s third national championship.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Palasciano and his supporters say H-1B workers have taken jobs away from deserving Americans and fueled unwelcome demographic shifts in North Texas.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Feb. 2026
-
In furious remarks, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Althea Drysdale said Atkinson had targeted two people deserving of great care and empathy and waited decades — until the day of his sentencing — to show remorse.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The five-star analyst also sees the possibility of hard disk drives (HDDs) gaining market share and accounting for more than 80% of storage in the cloud.—
TipRanks,
CNBC,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The passivity of moderate Democrats is resulting in the far left gaining more and more control of the party.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Reading the room, sensing discontent, having an antenna for misunderstandings among followers is not only key to garnering support but also to preventing resistance that can endanger your success.—
Paul Vanderbroeck,
Big Think,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Girls’ participation is booming — between the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years, 25,000 more girls signed up for high school flag football and it was offered in nearly 1,000 more schools — in a trend that’s garnering significant coverage and celebration.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
At the end of the 19th century, the United States took the island by force and set up its own lucrative sugar colony, with mainland corporations controlling a significant share of production and reaping massive profits.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
9 Feb. 2026
-
From Bengaluru to Berlin, Boston to São Paulo, Shenzhen to Seoul, cities are reaping the benefits of establishing and supporting dynamic research and development (R&D) hubs.—
Abdulla Belhoul,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Rather than making a dispassionate case against the idea that the country was founded to enslave Africans, MAGA is taking down plaques commemorating basic facts, such as Washington’s slaveholding.—
Thomas Chatterton Williams,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
-
This week, a 51-year-old woman was sentenced to federal prison for making far-out and ultimately weightless accusations – that her former spouse had illegally accessed her bank account as an astronaut aboard the International Space Station in the summer of 2019.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But Chen and Zumba, along with other conspirators, took it one step further, prosecutors said, by trying to obtaining military identification cards for the new spouses.—
Cara Tabachnick,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola University in New Orleans, Rodriguez earned her law degree from neighboring Tulane University in 1982.—
Mark Curriden,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson called Garland one of his favorite players and seemed to take comfort in handing him off to Lue, who is known for getting the most out of his players.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Otherwise, past travelers note that Anse Source d’Argent can get busy, and your fellow tourists may prevent you from getting that picture-perfect moment.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Earning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earning. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
