eke out

eke out
verb
1. supplement what is thought to be deficient (Freq. 2)
-

He eked out his meager pay by giving private lessons

-

Braque eked out his collages with charcoal

• Syn: ↑fill out
• Hypernyms: ↑supplement
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

2. live from day to day, as with some hardship
-

He eked out his years in great poverty

• Hypernyms: ↑live
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

3. make by laborious and precarious means
-

He eked out a living as a painter

• Syn: ↑squeeze out
• Hypernyms:
↑gain, ↑take in, ↑clear, ↑make, ↑earn, ↑realize, ↑realise, ↑pull in, ↑bring in
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

4. obtain with difficulty
-

He eked out some information from the archives

• Syn: ↑squeeze out
• Hypernyms: ↑obtain
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s PP

* * *

eke out [phrasal verb]
eke out (something) also eke (something) out
1 : to get or achieve (a living, a victory, etc.) with great difficulty

They eked out a living from the poor soil of the family's farm. [=they could grow only enough food to survive]

It looks like he has narrowly eked out a win in the election.

The company eked out a tiny profit last year.

2 : to increase (something) by a small amount

He eked out [=(more commonly) supplemented] his small income by working for neighbors.

3 : to make (a limited amount of something) last by using it carefully in small amounts

eke out food supplies

• • •
Main Entry: ↑eke

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:
, , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • eke out — Fowler (1926) wanted to limit the use of this phrasal verb to refer to things that can be made to last longer or go further, i.e. a supply: ‘you can eke out your income or a scanty subsistence with odd jobs or by fishing, but you cannot eke out a …   Modern English usage

  • eke out — [v] make something last barely exist, be economical with, be frugal with, be sparing with, economize on, get by*, stretch out; concept 239 Ant. use up, waste …   New thesaurus

  • eke out — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms eke out : present tense I/you/we/they eke out he/she/it ekes out present participle eking out past tense eked out past participle eked out a) to get just enough money or food to be able to continue to exist… …   English dictionary

  • eke out — PHRASAL VERB If you eke out something, you make your supply of it last as long as possible. [V P n (not pron)] Many workers can only eke out their redundancy money for about 10 weeks. [Also V n P] …   English dictionary

  • eke out — phr verb Eke out is used with these nouns as the object: ↑existence, ↑living, ↑victory …   Collocations dictionary

  • eke out — earn with difficulty He was unable to eke out a living on the farm so he sold it …   Idioms and examples

  • eke out a living — earn or grow enough to survive    On the small farm we were able to eke out a living …   English idioms

  • eke out — {v.} 1. To fill out or add a little to; increase a little. * /Mr. Jones eked out a country teacher s small salary by hunting and trapping in the winter./ * /The modest meal was eked out with bread and milk./ 2. To get (little) by hard work; to… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • eke out — {v.} 1. To fill out or add a little to; increase a little. * /Mr. Jones eked out a country teacher s small salary by hunting and trapping in the winter./ * /The modest meal was eked out with bread and milk./ 2. To get (little) by hard work; to… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • eke out — Synonyms and related words: accomplish, bring to completion, bring to fruition, complete, cope, fill in, fill out, fulfill, get by, keep afloat, make ends meet, make good, make out, make up, manage, mature, piece out, refill, replenish, round out …   Moby Thesaurus

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”