eke1
/iːk
/verb [with object] (eke something out)
1Make an amount or supply of something last longer by using or consuming it frugally: the remains of yesterday’s stew could be eked out to make another meal...
- She said: ‘We shared a can of fruit salad and a can of Coke - we didn't have many treats so we eked them out.
- Except when I tell the story it takes me about ten minutes to eke it out.
- Sounds great, but this technology is not designed to replace oil, merely to eke it out.
Synonyms
economize on, skimp on, be (more) economical with, make economies with, scrimp and scrape, save;
be thrifty with, be frugal with, be sparing with, cut back on, make cutbacks in, budget, husband
informal go easy on
augment, add to, increase, supplement;
enlarge, expand, amplify, make bigger, pad out, fill out, bulk out, stretch out
1.1Manage to make a living with difficulty: many traders barely eked out a living...
- The levels of poverty hit you as soon as you walk out of the airport and see people trying to eke a living out of the very earth they walk on.
- He strongly admires him because he knows how tough it is to eke a living out of one of Australia's last frontiers.
- Some of these mines have killed and wounded their military opponents, but many of the victims are women and children who have remained in the area attempting to eke a living out of the now lethal farm land.
Synonyms
scrape, scratch, scrimp;
survive, live, stay alive, exist, support oneself, cope, manage, fare, get along, get by, get through, make (both) ends meet, keep body and soul together
informal keep the wolf from the door, keep one's head above water, make out
Origin
Old English ēacian, ēcan (in the sense 'increase'), of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse auka.
Rhymes
eke2
/iːk/adverb
Archaic term for also. speak me thy name and eke thy place of birth...
- And eke thou hast my heart in hold.
- And eke within the castle were Springoldes, gonnes, bowes, and archers.
Origin
Old English, of Germanic origin.