earn one's stripes

verb

To acquire recognized credentials by competent performance.

Similar
earn one's wings
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Meanings

verbearn one's stripes (third-person singular simple present earns one's stripes, present participle earning one's stripes, simple past and past participle earned one's stripes or earnt one's stripes)

present singular third person earns one's stripes · participle present earning one's stripes · participle past earned one's stripes · past earned one's stripes · participle past earnt one's stripes · past earnt one's stripes

  1. To acquire recognized credentials by competent performance.

    Earned my stripes, 300 tracks in my Adidas track jacket

    2021, “Overcompensate”, in Clancy, performed by Twenty One Pilots

    Synonyms: earn one's wings

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo acquire recognized credentials by competent performance.

Similar
earn one's wings
Also see
earn one's wings
Cite this entry
APA

earn one's stripes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earn%20one's%20stripes

MLA

“earn one's stripes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earn%20one's%20stripes. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “earn one's stripes,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earn%20one's%20stripes.

Source: earn one's stripes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.