hard-earned

adjective

Having been obtained with a great deal of effort.

“It was a hard-earned victory for the team.”

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Meanings

adjectivehard-earned (comparative harder-earned or more hard-earned, superlative hardest-earned or most hard-earned)

comparative harder-earned · comparative more hard-earned · superlative hardest-earned · superlative most hard-earned

  1. Having been obtained with a great deal of effort.

    It was a hard-earned victory for the team.

    1 more example

    This is my hard-earned money, and I can spend it how I see fit.

nounhard-earned (uncountable)
  1. slanguncountableMoney that one owns.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hard-won

Origin

From hard + earned.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 來之不易的 /来之不易的
  • 來之不易的 /来之不易的 (láizhībùyì de)obtained with a great deal of effort
Finnish kovalla työllä ansaittu
  • kovalla työllä ansaittuobtained with a great deal of effort
Italian sudato
  • sudatoobtained with a great deal of effort
Portuguese suado
  • suadoobtained with a great deal of effort
Spanish arduamente devengado
  • arduamente devengadoobtained with a great deal of effort
Cite this entry
APA

hard-earned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard-earned

MLA

“hard-earned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard-earned. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hard-earned,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard-earned.

Source: hard-earned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.