as in sparse
less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable
survived on a hand-to-mouth income that came from any odd job that he could find
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Recent Examples of hand-to-mouth
Drop Shots 💰 How match-fixers prey on tennis players living a hand-to-mouth existence lower down the sport’s rankings.
—
Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 4 June 2026
Behavioral habits, including hand-to-mouth motion, inhalation and smoking rituals may also contribute to why quitting is difficult for many smokers.
—Victoria Forster, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
In leading the study, Rogers tested 30 braiding hair products across human, plant-based, and synthetic categories, including brands people specifically asked him to evaluate, like Gyal and Rebundle, using a hand-to-mouth risk assessment.
—Essence, 1 Apr. 2026
At the start of The Big Fake, a Netflix dramatization of one criminal’s involvement in the most tumultuous events in post-war Italy, Toni Chichiarelli (Pietro Castellitto) is a talented painter living hand-to-mouth as a portrait artist on the streets of Rome.
—Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
The occupants of this Neolithic housing development were not hand-to-mouth hunter-gatherers but settled inhabitants of a fertile floodplain.
—Literary Hub, 26 Jan. 2026
The film is not blind to how easily big dreams can be derailed, especially for the hand-to-mouth creative class in a Midwestern outpost.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
While their musician patriarch is on the road, the eldest sibling has become the clear-eyed voice of discipline in the household who struggles with the strain of their hand-to-mouth life.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 20 Dec. 2025
Ever since then, the Ekdals have lived hand-to-mouth, bolstered by Håkon’s charity.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2025
Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 4 June 2026
Behavioral habits, including hand-to-mouth motion, inhalation and smoking rituals may also contribute to why quitting is difficult for many smokers.
—Victoria Forster, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
In leading the study, Rogers tested 30 braiding hair products across human, plant-based, and synthetic categories, including brands people specifically asked him to evaluate, like Gyal and Rebundle, using a hand-to-mouth risk assessment.
—Essence, 1 Apr. 2026
At the start of The Big Fake, a Netflix dramatization of one criminal’s involvement in the most tumultuous events in post-war Italy, Toni Chichiarelli (Pietro Castellitto) is a talented painter living hand-to-mouth as a portrait artist on the streets of Rome.
—Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
The occupants of this Neolithic housing development were not hand-to-mouth hunter-gatherers but settled inhabitants of a fertile floodplain.
—Literary Hub, 26 Jan. 2026
The film is not blind to how easily big dreams can be derailed, especially for the hand-to-mouth creative class in a Midwestern outpost.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
While their musician patriarch is on the road, the eldest sibling has become the clear-eyed voice of discipline in the household who struggles with the strain of their hand-to-mouth life.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 20 Dec. 2025
Ever since then, the Ekdals have lived hand-to-mouth, bolstered by Håkon’s charity.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-to-mouth
Adjective
-
The close-to-the-crown plaits create a sleek, polished finish while helping camouflage sparse areas by minimizing visible spacing between each braid.—
Omenaa Boakye,
InStyle,
15 June 2026
-
Yet for an industry of that size, the coverage devoted to it is sparse and uneven.—
Ethan Stone,
Miami Herald,
15 June 2026
Adjective
-
And resources will only get more scarce as pressure builds to cut costs and benefits in a tight job market.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
14 June 2026
-
Japan's school lunch program was actually started after World War II, when the country was shattered and food was scarce.—
Adam Yamaguchi,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
Adjective
-
The second didn’t go nearly as well for Bussi as Karlsson and Howden scored on two of the Golden Knights’ six shots in the period to tie the score at 3-3 heading into the third, the tying goal coming off a Seth Jarvis turnover and a couple of poor defensive plays by Sean Walker and K’Andre Miller.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
Heat radiates from the pages of this extraordinary novel about a poor family in rural Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hand-to-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-to-mouth. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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