make a living
idiom
: to earn the money one needs to pay for housing, food, etc.
He made a living by working as a cook.
Examples of make a living in a Sentence
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The period piece is peppered with sequences in the present, where the two musicians, now in a punk rock band, continue to struggle to make a living through their art.
—
Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026
Songwriters deserve to make a living.
—Hannah Karp, Billboard, 28 Jan. 2026
This kind of strict symmetry can make a living room feel stiff and impersonal—more like a waiting room than a space meant to be lived in.
—Angelika Pokovba, Martha Stewart, 28 Jan. 2026
Young has been able to make a living by getting paid by other Horizon developers to create trailers to promote experiences available to users on the service.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2026
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Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026
Songwriters deserve to make a living.
—Hannah Karp, Billboard, 28 Jan. 2026
This kind of strict symmetry can make a living room feel stiff and impersonal—more like a waiting room than a space meant to be lived in.
—Angelika Pokovba, Martha Stewart, 28 Jan. 2026
Young has been able to make a living by getting paid by other Horizon developers to create trailers to promote experiences available to users on the service.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for make a living
Cite this Entry
“Make a living.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%20a%20living. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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