eke out

verb

eked out; eking out; ekes out

transitive verb

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

The Eagles have been playing with fire for weeks now, including eking out a one-point win over Legacy last week. —Matt Schubert, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025

While the Gophers eked out a share of the Big Ten regular season title and advanced to the NCAA playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, Thomas missed 13 games with ankle injuries. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 22 Sep. 2025

Marking the second Worlds Collide featuring talent from WWE and AAA, the broadcast from the Cox Pavilion at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas pushed past its predecessor to eke out 773,000 live concurrent viewers — a record for the event, per the wrestling promotion. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025

Mayfield was still able to help the Buccaneers eke out a win over Houston, and improve to 2-0 on the year. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for eke out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout

Kids Definition

eke out

verb

ˈēk-

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