earmark — English Dictionary

Noun

1. 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.

   Synonyms

   lugmark

   Narrower terms

   ear tag

   Examples

   Some mark them [sheep] vvith Raddle and make Ear-marks.

2. A distinguishing or identifying mark or sign; specifically (archaic), a mark of ownership.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   [H]e ſhoulde be dyſcryued by hys rounding and his eare marke: […]

   More examples (2)

   Mr. Bayes, many as proper a man as your ſelf march'd up Holborn for diſtinguiſhing betvvixt the VVealth and the Fanatick: and moreover let me tell you, Fanatick Money hath no Ear-mark.

   VVe are likevviſe all agreed that if the goods had remain in ſpecie unſold in the bankrupt's hands at the time of the bankruptcy, the plaintiffs might have recovered them in an action of trover, and that they could not be applied to pay the bankrupt's debts, […] [W]hy are goods conſidered ſtill as the ovvners? becauſe they remain in ſpecie, and ſo may be diſtinguiſhed from the reſt of the bankrupt's eſtate. But as money has no earmark, it cannot be diſtinguiſhed.

   I am inclined to think that his most besetting sin in style,—the little earmark by which he is most conspicuous,—is a certain affected familiarity.

   More examples (1)

   […] I saw in my patient one of the most forbidding men I have ever met. He had all the earmarks of a criminal.

3. An act of designating certain funds to be used for a specific purpose.

   Usage

   • Figurative

4. Specifically, a designation by the Congress that certain federal funds be appropriated for a specific project.

   Usage

   • US usage
   • Figurative

   Narrower terms

   lettermarkphonemark

Verb

1. 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.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Narrower terms

   ear-tag

2. To put a distinguishing or identifying mark or sign on (something); to make (something) distinctive or identifiable.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Transitive

3. To designate or set aside (someone or something) for a particular purpose; to allocate.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   allotappropriate

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   In barely a decade, the War on Drugs went from being a political slogan to an actual war. Now that police departments were suddenly flush with cash and military equipment earmarked for the drug war, they needed to make use of their new resources.

   But even I draw the line at "doing crunches" in designer clothes. Fashion sneakers are for swanking around the shops, not for running in. And so, like everyone else, I wear grotty old tracksuits earmarked for Oxfam, and tragic free festival T-shirts that give away my age.

4. Chiefly followed by for: to designate (certain funds) to be used for a specific purpose.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Transitive

   Examples

   You can donate to the organization as a whole, or you can earmark your contribution for a particular project.

   More examples (1)

   A widening of the M4 had long been mooted, and the Welsh Government had even earmarked most of the required £1.6bn funding for a new 14-mile, six-lane section around Newport. Then, in the face of opposition from environmentalists, came a realisation that similar road schemes across the world tend merely to encourage greater car use and therefore soon prove ineffective in solving the original problem.

5. 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.

   Usage

   • UK usage
   • Figurative
   • Transitive

6. Chiefly followed by for: to designate (certain funds) to be used for a specific purpose. Of the Congress: to designate that certain federal funds be appropriated for a specific project.

   Usage

   • US usage
   • Figurative
   • Transitive

   Narrower terms

   lettermarkphonemark

Noun

1. identification mark on the ear of a domestic animal

   Broader terms

   markermarkingmark

2. a distinctive characteristic or attribute of someone or something

   Synonyms

   hallmarktrademarkstylemark

   Broader terms

   characteristic

Verb

1. give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause

   Synonyms

   allowappropriateset asidereserve

   Broader terms

   assignallotportion

   Examples

   I will earmark this money for your research

   She sets aside time for meditation every day