Definition of eke
archaic
: also
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Origin and Etymology of eke
Middle English, from Old English ēac; akin to Old High German ouh also, Latin aut or, Greek au again
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: before 12th century
in the meaning defined above
See Words from the same yearDefinition of eke
eked;
eking
2
: to get with great difficulty
—usually used with out
- eke out a living
Recent Examples of eke from the Web
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North Korean founder, Kim Sung Il, father to Kim Jong Il and grandfather to the current Kim, expertly played his estranged Chinese and Soviet benefactors off each other for decades to eke concessions.
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In film, the few black stories that eke through are set firmly in reality — though not always in the present, and often with the struggle of slaves, their immediate descendants, or their distant successors.
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The dikes are not the only thing in a state of deterioration — forgotten Florida are inland places like this, where people eke out a living, or simply a meal, by fishing and selling goods from a truck.
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To eke out a profit, Valerian needs to gross at least $400 million.
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Fortunately, the sailor, Humphrey Bogart, subsequently managed to eke out a pretty decent film career despite suffering a permanent scar and lisp as a result of the incident.
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In the nightcap, the Indians scored four times in the ninth, capped by a Nick Swisher solo home run, to eke out a 9-8 win.
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On the high end, both the fine-dining and fast casual sectors are growing, even if individual restaurants are struggling to eke out market share in a hyper-competitive environment.
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The team of Darien Craig and Houston Calvert produced a 30.45-pound limit to narrowly eke out a win over Hadley Coan and Scott Keeling, who weighed an equally impressive 30.06 pounds.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eke.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of eke
Middle English, from Old English īecan, ēcan; akin to Old High German ouhhōn to add, Latin augēre to increase, Greek auxein
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: before 12th century
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearLearn More about eke
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