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

Dallas ekes out a win Day 3 Observations SoCal had a fantastic win against Texas to guarantee 2nd place in the group and take a huge step forward towards making the playoffs. — Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

An improvement in machine learning sets up additional improvements in machine learning, instead of making marginal improvements harder to eke out. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026

Russians have eked out an existence for a thousand years by growing their own food. — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2026

New York clinched its berth in the final two games ago, but the Liberty earned the right to host by eking out a 96-95 win over the Chicago Sky on Wednesday. — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 18 June 2026

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