eke out
verb
eked out; eking out; ekes out
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
At the start of the fourth quarter, with the game tied at fifty-one, Clark went on a run, and Iowa held on to eke out a two-point win.
—
Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
Out of last year’s gloom, U.S. retail sales for 2023 managed to eke out a gain of 3.6%, roughly equal to the rate of inflation—the equivalent of treading water.
—Greg Petro, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
To prevent that from happening, Netanyahu needed to eke out every possible right-wing and religious vote for his potential coalition.
—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
Ampersand, as a small business, had to eke out a loan to jump into the fray.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2024
The International Monetary Fund predicts Germany will be the slowest-growing major economy this year, eking out an expansion of just 0.5%.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
The library computer lab was connected via high-speed ethernet, but home use still monopolized the phone line as bits were eked out slowly from a modem.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2024
Huerta eked out a 5-3 decision over Ty Pope of Mount Miguel while Larios pinned Zavier Leatherman of Army-Navy Academy in 1 minute, 44 seconds.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024
Patel plays Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2024
Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
Out of last year’s gloom, U.S. retail sales for 2023 managed to eke out a gain of 3.6%, roughly equal to the rate of inflation—the equivalent of treading water.
—Greg Petro, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
To prevent that from happening, Netanyahu needed to eke out every possible right-wing and religious vote for his potential coalition.
—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
Ampersand, as a small business, had to eke out a loan to jump into the fray.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2024
The International Monetary Fund predicts Germany will be the slowest-growing major economy this year, eking out an expansion of just 0.5%.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
The library computer lab was connected via high-speed ethernet, but home use still monopolized the phone line as bits were eked out slowly from a modem.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2024
Huerta eked out a 5-3 decision over Ty Pope of Mount Miguel while Larios pinned Zavier Leatherman of Army-Navy Academy in 1 minute, 44 seconds.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024
Patel plays Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eke out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Eke out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eke%20out. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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