earn Hear it!

earn definition

earn (ʉrn)

transitive verb

  1. to receive (salary, wages, etc.) for one's labor or service
  2. to get or deserve as a result of something one has done
  3. to gain (interest, etc.) as profit

Etymology: ME ernen < OE earnian, to gain, labor for, lit., to harvest, akin to Ger ernte, harvest, OHG arnōn, to bring to harvest < IE base *es-en, summer, harvest time

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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