earn a living
idiom
: to earn the money needed for food, clothing, etc.
She's just trying to earn a living.
Examples of earn a living in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Additional exemptions cover tools of your trade, allowing professionals and tradespeople to keep the equipment necessary to earn a living.
—
Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
Musk is also not blind to the potential downsides of a society without the need to earn a living.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 12 Jan. 2026
The novel merges their long experience working crushing hours for local businesses on the cusp of unionization with the real-life saga of grocery cooperative workers fighting to earn a living wage.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Giuditta Brozzetti founded this atelier inside a deconsecrated church in the 1920s in order to help local women earn a living by weaving textiles.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 16 Dec. 2025
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Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
Musk is also not blind to the potential downsides of a society without the need to earn a living.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 12 Jan. 2026
The novel merges their long experience working crushing hours for local businesses on the cusp of unionization with the real-life saga of grocery cooperative workers fighting to earn a living wage.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Giuditta Brozzetti founded this atelier inside a deconsecrated church in the 1920s in order to help local women earn a living by weaving textiles.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for earn a living
Cite this Entry
“Earn a living.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earn%20a%20living. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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