Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
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 — 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 … Useful english dictionary
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 — 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
