eke out

verb

eked out; eking out; ekes out

transitive verb

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

The club eked out a net profit of $1.7 million, versus a loss of $32.5 million during the same period in 2023. —Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 26 Nov. 2024

Ohio: Congress' longest-serving woman may eke out a win Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, has been in Congress for 41 years. —Rachel Barber, USA TODAY, 7 Nov. 2024

Avon Marching Black & Gold Carmel Marching Greyhounds Castle Marching Knights Scores from 2024 BOA finals in Indianapolis Avon took the helm, Carmel eked out a second-place tie and Castle took 9th place. —Jenny Porter Tilley, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Nov. 2024

His grandfather barely eked out a living from tiny, terraced fields in the drought- and famine-prone hills of China’s northwest Shaanxi province. —Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

eke out

verb

ˈēk-

1

a

: supplement entry 2

eked out their small income by working for neighbors

b

: to make (a supply) last by careful use

2

: to get with great difficulty

eked out a living from the poor soil of the family's farm