earnout

E1A1R1N1O1U1T1

noun

A formula by which the management of a company earns a share of the company's share capital by achieving results above pre-determined levels.

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Meanings

nounearnout (plural earnouts)

plural earnouts

  1. businessA formula by which the management of a company earns a share of the company's share capital by achieving results above pre-determined levels.

    The earnout was definitely getting in the way of running Skype the way we wanted to run it.

    2007 October 18, Brad Stone, “EBay Reports 3rd-Quarter Growth, With Some Blemishes”, in New York Times

Origin

From earn + out.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

outearnTouraneOrtenauuronate
Cite this entry
APA

earnout. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earnout

MLA

“earnout.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earnout. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “earnout,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earnout.

Source: earnout on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.