eke (out)

verb

Definition of eke (out)next
as in to earn
to get with great difficulty eked out a living from the family's small farm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for eke (out)
  1. earn
  2. obtain
Verb
  • The New York Red Bulls took advantage of an early own goal, added an Emil Forsberg score in second-half stoppage time and capitalized on a limited appearance by Lionel Messi to earn a crucial 2-0 victory over Inter Miami on Saturday.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Prior to working in Hollywood, Atchity served as an assistant professor of English and comparative literature at Occidental College before earning tenure and becoming a full-time professor.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of earn
Verb
  • In an interview with Vogue at Cannes, Hoyeon described spending six months preparing for the action sequences, including firearms training, obtaining a stick-shift driving license, and learning stunt-driving techniques.
    — Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands became sovereign countries, obtaining membership in the United Nations in September 1991.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of obtain
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.

Browse Nearby Words

eked (out)
eke (out)
ekes (out)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Eke (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eke%20%28out%29. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All