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
Both dropped out of college and essentially lived hand-to-mouth in order to pursue their musical dreams.
—
Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2025
Based on the real fundamentals, the stock price would be in the low, single digits - just a fraction of its current price.
Worse, the company is living hand-to-mouth because of the minuscule revenues, large negative earnings, and high cash outflow.
—John S. Tobey, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
The brand recommends using them in tandem with NRTs to satiate the hand-to-mouth habit of vaping.
—Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Teach your children how to avoid hand-to-mouth behaviors.
—Steffini Stalos, Verywell Health, 3 Oct. 2024
The motive can range from adolescent rebellion to adult thrill-seeking to hand-to-mouth poverty.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2024
Inside the Billion-Dollar Effort to Clean Up the Seine
While many athletes live hand-to-mouth, the IOC enjoys an opulent existence.
—Jules Boykoff, TIME, 8 Aug. 2024
My dad lived very hand-to-mouth, and my mum used to buy a lot through catalogues and got herself into some bad debt.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 8 May 2024
The casting Ripley begins with Tom living hand-to-mouth in New York City through small cons until he’s hired to convince wayward shipbuilding heir Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) to leave his extended Italian holiday painting mediocre still lifes and return home to his frustrated family.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 6 June 2024
Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2025
Based on the real fundamentals, the stock price would be in the low, single digits - just a fraction of its current price.
Worse, the company is living hand-to-mouth because of the minuscule revenues, large negative earnings, and high cash outflow.
—John S. Tobey, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
The brand recommends using them in tandem with NRTs to satiate the hand-to-mouth habit of vaping.
—Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Teach your children how to avoid hand-to-mouth behaviors.
—Steffini Stalos, Verywell Health, 3 Oct. 2024
The motive can range from adolescent rebellion to adult thrill-seeking to hand-to-mouth poverty.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2024
Inside the Billion-Dollar Effort to Clean Up the Seine
While many athletes live hand-to-mouth, the IOC enjoys an opulent existence.
—Jules Boykoff, TIME, 8 Aug. 2024
My dad lived very hand-to-mouth, and my mum used to buy a lot through catalogues and got herself into some bad debt.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 8 May 2024
The casting Ripley begins with Tom living hand-to-mouth in New York City through small cons until he’s hired to convince wayward shipbuilding heir Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) to leave his extended Italian holiday painting mediocre still lifes and return home to his frustrated family.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 6 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-to-mouth
Adjective
-
His words, though often sparse and cryptic, usually mattered more than those of his counterparts, fueling a political mystique of infallibility.—
Megan Crepeau,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2025
-
His characteristically sparse prose only makes this portrait of a necrophiliac serial killer haunting the hill country of eastern Tennessee that much more disturbing: Lester Ballard makes Norman Bates look like Beaver Cleaver.—
M.L. Rio,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Inventory space is scarce, so this is really a last resort, as most of Lucy’s backpack should be filled with food and water.—
Issy van der Velde,
Rolling Stone,
20 Feb. 2025
-
Track position is everything on a circuit as unforgiving as Monaco, where overtaking opportunities are scarce.—
Kanzah Maktoum,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Without education, students with disabilities face higher rates of poverty, unemployment, poor health, and social isolation.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
-
This initiative helped avert potential global famines and boosted incomes for poor farmers, particularly in Asia.—
A.J. Russo,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hand-to-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-to-mouth. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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