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 Dateline To earn a living, Sessions painted houses. Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2023 Many graffiti artists would love to earn a living from their work. Frank Shyong, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024 Morgan Thomsen grew up in a remote part of Idaho where his parents were fire lookouts, so he was raised thinking that fighting fire was a good way to earn a living. ProPublica, 16 Mar. 2024 From our 2nd Amendment rights, to the right to life, to the right to earn a living for one’s family without being burdened by unreasonable regulations, Texans have a pioneer spirit and way of life which must be protected. Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2024 And the many migrants who earn a living by working on the streets -- the thousands that sell street food, push carts of fruit through searingly hot alleys during the day, or work at construction sites -- are often the most vulnerable. Jae C. Hong and Aniruddha Ghosal The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 10 Feb. 2024 There are people trying to figure out how to earn a living. Terence McGinley, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 As the film progresses, the trade is portrayed as both a risky and unfortunate way to earn a living and a way to maintain fierce agency, a duality that Sholl witnessed firsthand. Holly Jones, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023 Portraiture being one of the best ways for an artist to earn a living at the time, Sargent threw himself into it, becoming the leading portrait painter of his generation. Chadd Scott, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'earn a living.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near 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 25 Apr. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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