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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
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
-
Narratives were sparse to nonexistent, with more than one person commenting after the screenings some of the films were closer to commercials than short films.—
Winston Cho,
The Hollywood Reporter,
25 Mar. 2025
-
In Central Texas, early bloomers are a bit sparse this year — but that leaves more room for later spring and summer flowers to thrive.—
Shafaq Patel,
Axios,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Details of who makes up the DOGE staff have been scarce despite the intense media attention on the team's efforts.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2025
-
As a rule, if rain is scarce, a crepe myrtle needs two to three gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter per week.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
This can manifest in poor financial behaviors like excessive credit card debt, minimal savings, or impulsive investment decisions.—
Shane Enete,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
-
After a strong opening period that took the fans at Bridgestone Arena out of the game, the Leafs allowed the Predators to get back in it with a poor middle frame.—
Omar White,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hand-to-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-to-mouth. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share