eke out
Britishverb
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to make (a supply) last, esp by frugal use
they eked out what little food was left
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to support (existence) with difficulty and effort
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to add to (something insufficient), esp with effort
to eke out an income with evening work
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Supplement, make last, as in The survivors eked out their food and water until they were rescued . [Late 1500s]
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Get with great difficulty or effort, as in The soil was terrible but they managed to eke out a living by rotating crops . [Early 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
CoreWeave is able to eke out a small operating profit, but this gets wiped out by interest expense.
From Barron's
Tech stocks paused their recent slide on Tuesday, helping major indexes to eke out minor gains.
Investors sheltered in shares of utilities and consumer staples, the only S&P 500 sectors to eke out gains.
The nature of T20 cricket means bat dominates ball, although "skilful bowlers remain skilful bowlers," according to Conrad and batsmen need to clear boundaries rather than eke out long innings.
From Barron's
Today, bighorn eke out an existence among the russet-tinged barrel cacti, which they sometimes turn to for water in the harsh desert.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
