- 1
To earmark something is to decide, in advance, that it will be used for one purpose — or that something will be done to it later. Cities earmark money for a new school: that cash is not free for anything else. A company might earmark a room for visitors. The picture behind the word is old farm life: a farmer cut a mark in an animal’s ear so everyone could see whose animal it was. We still use the verb much more for money and plans than for animals. It sounds a little official; in easy talk people often say set aside or save for. There is also a noun (the money set aside, or a clear sign of something), but the first meaning to learn is the verb: choose the purpose now.
指定用途、預留（預算上常說「編列專款」或「專款專用」）
原始詞典資料10 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
earmarknoun/ˈɪəmɑːk/
- 1
agriculturebusinesslifestyleA 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.
- Some mark them [sheep] vvith Raddle and make Ear-marks.
- 2
A distinguishing or identifying mark or sign; specifically (archaic), a mark of ownership.
- [H]e ſhoulde be dyſcryued by hys rounding and his eare marke: […]
- 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.
- 3
businessfinanceAn act of designating certain funds to be used for a specific purpose.
- 4
governmentpoliticsSpecifically, a designation by the Congress that certain federal funds be appropriated for a specific project.
earmarkverb/ˈɪəmɑːk/
- 1
agriculturebusinesslifestyleTo 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.
- 2
To put a distinguishing or identifying mark or sign on (something); to make (something) distinctive or identifiable.
- 3
To designate or set aside (someone or something) for a particular purpose; to allocate.
- 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
businessfinanceChiefly followed by for: to designate (certain funds) to be used for a specific purpose.
- You can donate to the organization as a whole, or you can earmark your contribution for a particular project.
- 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
businessfinanceChiefly followed by for: to designate (certain funds) to be used for a specific purpose.
- 6
businessfinancegovernmentChiefly followed by for: to designate (certain funds) to be used for a specific purpose.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。