earmark

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈɪrmɑrk/ UK /ˈɪəmɑːk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to set aside funds or resources for a particular purpose

The grant was earmarked for cancer research.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to set aside funds or... allocate designate reserve set aside assign appropriate tag

Word family

Derived forms earmarked

Related forms ear mark

Etymology

A compound of 'ear' + 'mark', originally a mark cut in the ear of livestock to show ownership; the figurative 'set aside funds' sense is 19th-century.

ēare Old English mearc Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

markdown