"earn one's keep" meaning in English

See earn one's keep in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-earn one's keep.ogg [Australia] Forms: earns one's keep [present, singular, third-person], earning one's keep [participle, present], earned one's keep [participle, past], earned one's keep [past], earnt one's keep [participle, past], earnt one's keep [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*|past2=earnt one's keep}} earn one's keep (third-person singular simple present earns one's keep, present participle earning one's keep, simple past and past participle earned one's keep or earnt one's keep)
  1. (idiomatic) To perform satisfactory physical labor or to provide other worthy services in return for remuneration, lodging, or other benefits; to support oneself financially. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: earn one's corn, earn one's crust, carry one's weight, make a living Translations (to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.): tienata leipänsä (Finnish), sich seinen Platz / sein Bett / sein Essen verdienen (German), seine Schuld abarbeiten (German), für Kost und Logis arbeiten (German), sich seinen Lebensunterhalt verdienen (German), sein Auskommen haben (German)
    Sense id: en-earn_one's_keep-en-verb-CVAg1F5i Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 56 44 Disambiguation of 'to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.': 99 1
  2. (figurative) To be worthwhile. Tags: figuratively Translations (to be worthwhile): lohnen [reflexive] (German)
    Sense id: en-earn_one's_keep-en-verb-j8tCB07X Disambiguation of 'to be worthwhile': 5 95

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for earn one's keep meaning in English (4.4kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earns one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earning one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "earnt one's keep"
      },
      "expansion": "earn one's keep (third-person singular simple present earns one's keep, present participle earning one's keep, simple past and past participle earned one's keep or earnt one's keep)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "56 44",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1880, R. D. Blackmore, chapter 41, in Mary Anerley: A Yorkshire Tale",
          "text": "Being a very strong, active man, with gift of versatile hand and brain, and early acquaintance with handicrafts, Christopher Bert could earn his keep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 July 1, Alan Riding, “A Curvy Klee Museum, Sprouting From the Swiss Hills”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "Klee also left home to make his name, moving in his late teens to Munich, where he studied art, earned his keep as a musician and, in 1906, married Lily Stumpf.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To perform satisfactory physical labor or to provide other worthy services in return for remuneration, lodging, or other benefits; to support oneself financially."
      ],
      "id": "en-earn_one's_keep-en-verb-CVAg1F5i",
      "links": [
        [
          "satisfactory",
          "satisfactory"
        ],
        [
          "physical",
          "physical"
        ],
        [
          "labor",
          "labor"
        ],
        [
          "worthy",
          "worthy"
        ],
        [
          "service",
          "service"
        ],
        [
          "remuneration",
          "remuneration"
        ],
        [
          "lodging",
          "lodging"
        ],
        [
          "benefit",
          "benefit"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ],
        [
          "financially",
          "financially"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To perform satisfactory physical labor or to provide other worthy services in return for remuneration, lodging, or other benefits; to support oneself financially."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "earn one's corn"
        },
        {
          "word": "earn one's crust"
        },
        {
          "word": "carry one's weight"
        },
        {
          "word": "make a living"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
          "word": "tienata leipänsä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
          "word": "sich seinen Platz / sein Bett / sein Essen verdienen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
          "word": "seine Schuld abarbeiten"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
          "word": "für Kost und Logis arbeiten"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
          "word": "sich seinen Lebensunterhalt verdienen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
          "word": "sein Auskommen haben"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2021 February 5, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 55, column 2",
          "text": "The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox really earns its keep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be worthwhile."
      ],
      "id": "en-earn_one's_keep-en-verb-j8tCB07X",
      "links": [
        [
          "worthwhile",
          "worthwhile"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) To be worthwhile."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "5 95",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to be worthwhile",
          "tags": [
            "reflexive"
          ],
          "word": "lohnen"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-earn one's keep.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ce/En-au-earn_one%27s_keep.ogg/En-au-earn_one%27s_keep.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/En-au-earn_one%27s_keep.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "earn one's keep"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earns one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earning one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earned one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earnt one's keep",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "earnt one's keep"
      },
      "expansion": "earn one's keep (third-person singular simple present earns one's keep, present participle earning one's keep, simple past and past participle earned one's keep or earnt one's keep)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1880, R. D. Blackmore, chapter 41, in Mary Anerley: A Yorkshire Tale",
          "text": "Being a very strong, active man, with gift of versatile hand and brain, and early acquaintance with handicrafts, Christopher Bert could earn his keep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 July 1, Alan Riding, “A Curvy Klee Museum, Sprouting From the Swiss Hills”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "Klee also left home to make his name, moving in his late teens to Munich, where he studied art, earned his keep as a musician and, in 1906, married Lily Stumpf.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To perform satisfactory physical labor or to provide other worthy services in return for remuneration, lodging, or other benefits; to support oneself financially."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "satisfactory",
          "satisfactory"
        ],
        [
          "physical",
          "physical"
        ],
        [
          "labor",
          "labor"
        ],
        [
          "worthy",
          "worthy"
        ],
        [
          "service",
          "service"
        ],
        [
          "remuneration",
          "remuneration"
        ],
        [
          "lodging",
          "lodging"
        ],
        [
          "benefit",
          "benefit"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ],
        [
          "financially",
          "financially"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To perform satisfactory physical labor or to provide other worthy services in return for remuneration, lodging, or other benefits; to support oneself financially."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "earn one's corn"
        },
        {
          "word": "earn one's crust"
        },
        {
          "word": "carry one's weight"
        },
        {
          "word": "make a living"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2021 February 5, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 55, column 2",
          "text": "The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox really earns its keep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be worthwhile."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "worthwhile",
          "worthwhile"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) To be worthwhile."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-earn one's keep.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ce/En-au-earn_one%27s_keep.ogg/En-au-earn_one%27s_keep.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/En-au-earn_one%27s_keep.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
      "word": "tienata leipänsä"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
      "word": "sich seinen Platz / sein Bett / sein Essen verdienen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
      "word": "seine Schuld abarbeiten"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
      "word": "für Kost und Logis arbeiten"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
      "word": "sich seinen Lebensunterhalt verdienen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to perform physical labor or to provide services for remuneration, lodging, etc.",
      "word": "sein Auskommen haben"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to be worthwhile",
      "tags": [
        "reflexive"
      ],
      "word": "lohnen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "earn one's keep"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.