"earn a living" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earns a living",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earning a living",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned a living",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned a living",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt a living",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt a living",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "earn a living",
        "past2": "earnt a living"
      },
      "expansion": "earn a living (third-person singular simple present earns a living, present participle earning a living, simple past and past participle earned a living or earnt a living)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "make a living"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, pages 13–14:",
          "text": "We could never understand why any man should choose the career of a chainsmith, except, possibly, for the reason that it ran in the family, for a more arduous and unpleasant manner of earning one's living could scarcely be imagined, unless it was the business of moulding permanent-way chairs in an iron foundry.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of make a living"
      ],
      "id": "en-earn_a_living-en-verb-JeVMiMqj",
      "links": [
        [
          "make a living",
          "make a living#English"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "earn one's living"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "earn a living"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earns a living",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earning a living",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned a living",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned a living",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt a living",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt a living",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "earn a living",
        "past2": "earnt a living"
      },
      "expansion": "earn a living (third-person singular simple present earns a living, present participle earning a living, simple past and past participle earned a living or earnt a living)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "earn one's living"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "make a living"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, pages 13–14:",
          "text": "We could never understand why any man should choose the career of a chainsmith, except, possibly, for the reason that it ran in the family, for a more arduous and unpleasant manner of earning one's living could scarcely be imagined, unless it was the business of moulding permanent-way chairs in an iron foundry.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of make a living"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "make a living",
          "make a living#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "earn a living"
}