earnings

plural noun

earn·​ings ˈər-niŋz How to pronounce earnings (audio)
1
: something (such as wages) earned
2
: the balance of revenue after deduction of costs and expenses

Examples of earnings in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Alphabet, Amazon and Apple are set to report earnings after the bell Thursday and all eyes will be scrutinizing the results to see how those challenges affected the crucial December quarter. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 2 Feb. 2023 The three tech giants, the Detroit auto maker and the energy behemoth are among companies set to report earnings Thursday. Josh Mitchell, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2023 Tech giants Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta report earnings this week. Harold Maass, The Week, 30 Jan. 2023 The world’s largest maker of chips, smartphones and display panels is set to report fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, followed by a call during which analysts are likely to question its capacity management plans. Sohee Kim, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2023 The investment announcement came a day before Microsoft was scheduled to report its earnings from the October-December financial quarter and after disclosing last week its plans to lay off 10,000 employees, close to 5% of its global workforce. CBS News, 23 Jan. 2023 With soaring inflation and fears of a recession, many companies expected to report lower earnings. Q.ai - Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023 Spotify will report its fourth-quarter earnings Jan. 31 before the market opens. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2023 Microsoft is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings Tuesday. Karen Weise, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'earnings.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of earnings was in 1594

Dictionary Entries Near earnings

Cite this Entry

“Earnings.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earnings. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

earnings

noun plural
earn·​ings ˈər-niŋz How to pronounce earnings (audio)
: something earned
especially : money received as wages or gained as profit

Legal Definition

earnings

noun plural
earn·​ings
1
: something (as wages or dividends) earned as compensation for labor or the use of capital
2
: the balance of revenue for a specified period that remains after deducting related costs and expenses incurred compare profit

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