-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
eke out
verb
eked out; eking out; ekes out
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
Advertisement The Bruins swept Stanford (50-16) during the regular season, eking out two close wins over Canady.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024
By the time Covid hit Mexico, Ms. Sheinbaum had eked out some space to govern her own way, empowering technocrats over party loyalists and investing in the police to fight crime, instead of relying on the military like Mr. López Obrador.
—Natalie Kitroeff, New York Times, 30 May 2024
Per Comscore, the latest entry in George Miller’s blockbuster franchise won the weekend with a $25.5 million domestic debut, just barely eking out a win over The Garfield Movie’s $24.7 million earnings.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 26 May 2024
Despite predictions that the GOP would win control of the Senate that year, Democrats ultimately eked out a narrow majority.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024
Other political analysts were more cautious: Some pointed out that in 1992, the Conservative government of Prime Minister John Major overcame a polling deficit to eke out a narrow victory and stay in power.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 22 May 2024
That was one of just three hits the Brewers managed to eke out Monday night.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024
The series spanned five episodes, following a group of unemployed Liverpool men trying to eke out a living.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 5 May 2024
All Gosling can eke out is a small grunt/sigh that will basically knock the air right out of your lungs.
—Meredith Woerner, Variety, 4 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eke out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near eke out
Cite this Entry
“Eke out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eke%20out. Accessed 12 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
eke out
verbˈēk-
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share