1
: a mark of identification on the ear of an animal
2
: a distinguishing mark
all the earmarks of poverty
3
: a provision in Congressional legislation that allocates a specified amount of money for a specific project, program, or organization
earmarked; earmarking; earmarks
1
a
: to mark (livestock) with an earmark
b
: to mark in a distinguishing manner
2
: to designate (something, such as funds) for a specific use or owner
money earmarked for education
Synonyms
Examples of earmark in a Sentence
Verb
The project uses funds that had been earmarked for education.
the earnings from my second job have been earmarked for a down payment on a car
Recent Examples on the Web
Greg Evans, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024
Flashback: As of August, the education department distributed more than $42 million in grants of a $50 million earmark to state schools to increase and modernize security according to recommendations from Arkansas' 2022 School Safety Commission Report.
—Worth Sparkman, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024
Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Hogan had earmarked that money his first year in office, after canceling a $2.9 billion light rail in Baltimore and diverting those funds to highway, road, and bridge projects.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for earmark 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Noun
In fact, Left on Tenth has all the earmarks of those tales, with perhaps just a very, very light touch of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024
Flashback: As of August, the education department distributed more than $42 million in grants of a $50 million earmark to state schools to increase and modernize security according to recommendations from Arkansas' 2022 School Safety Commission Report.
—Worth Sparkman, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024
Verb
The Unicorns had earmarked a site in Santa Clara, but are currently widening their search although the ground will most likely be in the Silicon Valley.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Hogan had earmarked that money his first year in office, after canceling a $2.9 billion light rail in Baltimore and diverting those funds to highway, road, and bridge projects.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for earmark
Dictionary Entries Near earmark
Cite this Entry
“Earmark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earmark. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
earmark
1 of 2 noun
ear·mark
ˈi(ə)r-ˌmärk 
1
: a mark of identification on the ear of an animal
2
: a mark or quality by which something can be identified
the earmarks of success
earmark
2 of 2 verb1
: to mark with or as if with an earmark
2
: to set aside for a special purpose
money earmarked for a vacation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share