eke (out)

verb

Definition of eke (out)next
as in to earn
to get with great difficulty eked out a living from the family's small farm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for eke (out)
  1. earn
  2. obtain
Verb
  • Formed in 2012, Polaris broke through with 2017’s The Mortal Coil and 2020’s The Death of Me, both of which debuted in the Australian Top 10 and earned ARIA nominations for best hard rock/heavy metal album.
    — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Referees showed head coach Nate Miller a pair of yellow cards a minute apart, earning him an ejection 21 minutes into the game.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of earn
Verb
  • An April 2025 legionella report obtained by The Sacramento Bee shows the bacteria was found in at least 17 samples, including those taken from the men’s locker room, a women’s bathroom and several janitor closets.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Caputo said the idea for the citizenship-for-investment program emerged during Milei's July 2024 visit to Sun Valley, Idaho, when tech executives expressed interest in obtaining Argentine citizenship.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of obtain
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

eked (out)
eke (out)
ekes (out)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Eke (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eke%20%28out%29. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of perseverate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All