eke out
verb
eked out; eking out; ekes out
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 Dow ended the day down about 1%, but the Nasdaq eked out a small gain.
—
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2025
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5%.
Technology stocks, which had been the heaviest weights on the market in the early going, bounced back to offset a big share of the declines elsewhere in the S&P 500.
—Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2025
Chicagoans might wonder how a mayor with approval ratings as low as Brandon Johnson’s keeps managing to eke out victories in the City Council even when aldermen providing the pivotal votes express disapproval of the ordinances at issue.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025
The Lakers eked out a great win thanks to, of course, James:
Just to recap: Arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live spent his Wednesday accelerating his feud with one ESPN personality via another one’s show, on ESPN airwaves, before adding a game winner to his resume.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for eke out
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Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2025
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5%.
Technology stocks, which had been the heaviest weights on the market in the early going, bounced back to offset a big share of the declines elsewhere in the S&P 500.
—Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2025
Chicagoans might wonder how a mayor with approval ratings as low as Brandon Johnson’s keeps managing to eke out victories in the City Council even when aldermen providing the pivotal votes express disapproval of the ordinances at issue.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025
The Lakers eked out a great win thanks to, of course, James:
Just to recap: Arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live spent his Wednesday accelerating his feud with one ESPN personality via another one’s show, on ESPN airwaves, before adding a game winner to his resume.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for eke out
Cite this Entry
“Eke out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eke%20out. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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