eke out

verb

eked out; eking out; ekes out

transitive verb

1
: to make up for the deficiencies of : supplement
eked out his income by getting a second job
2
: to make (a supply) last by economy

Examples of eke out in a Sentence

eked out a living from the family's small farm
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Then Duke got a third date with rival North Carolina, let a 24-point lead dwindle to 1 and had to eke out a win in the game’s final seconds after UNC lost its score-tying free-throw attempt with 4.1 seconds left due to a lane violation. Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 16 Mar. 2025 Listen to this article San Diego managed to eke out a modest population gain in 2024, even as the county saw a continued exodus of tens of thousands of residents leaving for other parts of the country. Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2025 Life sciences stock Thermo Fisher Scientific has slipped 10% over the past 12 months, but has managed to eke out a 1% gain so far this year. Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 7 Mar. 2025 That’s true even if the average streaming show ekes out two seasons at most. Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for eke out

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of eke out was in 1596

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Eke out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eke%20out. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

eke out

verb
ˈēk-
1
a
: supplement entry 2
eked out their small income by working for neighbors
b
: to make (a supply) last by careful use
2
: to get with great difficulty
eked out a living from the poor soil of the family's farm

More from Merriam-Webster on eke out

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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