earmark
Pronunciation: /ˈɪəmɑːk/
The English word “earmark” has 10 meanings listed here.
noun
- A mark made or tag attached to the ear of an animal (chiefly a livestock animal), generally to identify or indicate something about the animal, such as ownership, health or gestation status, etc.
- A distinguishing or identifying mark or sign; specifically (archaic), a mark of ownership.
- An act of designating certain funds to be used for a specific purpose.
- Specifically, a designation by the Congress that certain federal funds be appropriated for a specific project.
verb
- To make a mark or attach a tag to the ear of (an animal, chiefly a livestock animal), generally to identify or indicate something about the animal, such as ownership.
- To put a distinguishing or identifying mark or sign on (something); to make (something) distinctive or identifiable.
- To designate or set aside (someone or something) for a particular purpose; to allocate.
- Chiefly followed by for: to designate (certain funds) to be used for a specific purpose.
- To designate (part of a pension) to be payable to the holder's former spouse or payment when the pension is paid.
- Of the Congress: to designate that certain federal funds be appropriated for a specific project.
Etymology
The noun is derived from ear + mark. The verb is derived from the noun.
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.