make ends meet

phrase

: to make one's means adequate to one's needs

did all they could do to make ends meet

Examples of make ends meet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just as many people can’t afford to have someone else clean their homes, landscape their yards or nanny their kids, those struggling to make ends meet may need to lean on AI assistance. — Billy J. Stratton, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026

But prices alone can't show what families are doing to make ends meet. — Jamie Stockwell, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026

But after their father leaves for Switzerland, the girls’ mother, Esma (Simonida Selimovic), can’t make ends meet. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026

Now a widower, Tom is struggling to make ends meet for himself and his daughter. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for make ends meet

• amit
• athlete
• backseat
• blackfeet
• broadsheet
• browbeat
• buckwheat
• compete
• compleat
• complete
• conceit
• concrete