Akademik

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

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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

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Main Entry:eke

Useful english dictionary. 2012.