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“Earn” or “Erne” or “Urn”

earn / erne / urn are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

earn ER·n

  • verbacquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions.

erne ER·n

No dictionary entry for this spelling — see the usage examples below for how it shows up in writing.

urn ER·n

  • nouna large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet.
  • nouna large pot for making coffee or tea.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“earn”

  • To earn extra income Hilliard worked part-time…
  • …her religious ballad sheets to earn her living.
  • …to 10, a student must earn 4 units of credit.
  • …scored with his head to earn his side a point against…
  • …first high school program to earn accreditation from the American Mountain…
  • To graduate, students must earn 19 academic credits, including a…
  • …win the game 91–63 to earn a spot in the gold-medal…
  • …time are often required to earn approximately 140-150 credits to receive…
  • …and the only horse to earn a million dollars in Puerto…
  • …other states, others join to earn some money before moving onto…

“erne”

  • …a canal to connect Lough Erne with Lough Neagh.

“urn”

  • …holds her husband Alfred's cinerary urn.
  • …invented the afrinagan (the metal urn in which a sacred fire…
  • …a free "Oedipus Rex ashes urn" as a promotional offer after…
  • …the body lays in an urn and the site still reads…
  • …use of a metal vase-like urn to transport fire.
  • …1819–1863 are more neoclassical, with urn and willow motifs including not…
  • …seems to be a funerary urn, with only ashes inside it.
  • …to be cremated, but no urn was prepared for him and…
  • …poem, "Ode on a Grecian Urn".
  • …were placed into a ceramic urn in front of an altar.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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