{ "eke":{ "type":[ "adverb", "verb" ], "definitions":{ ": also":[], ": increase , lengthen":[], ": to get with great difficulty":[ "\u2014 usually used with out eke out a living" ] }, "pronounciation":[ "\u02c8\u0113k" ], "synonyms":[ "scrape (up ", "scrounge", "squeeze", "wrest", "wring" ], "antonyms":[], "synonym_discussion":"", "examples":[ "Recent Examples on the Web: Verb", "Woe to the fools sent to eke a victory out of this. \u2014 Dennard Dayle, The New Yorker , 6 June 2022", "Those early pioneers figured out how to harness water to eke a living out of the inhospitable, arid West. \u2014 Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune , 10 Apr. 2022", "Restaurants operate with razor-thin profit margins in normal times, so they\u2019re built to eke their way into the black, not reinvent themselves wholesale. \u2014 Saahil Desai, The Atlantic , 2 Mar. 2022", "And yet amid the obvious standstill, a coterie of lawmakers including Greene continues to eke political mileage out of seeming perpetually on the verge of making Silicon Valley pay. \u2014 Brian Fung, CNN , 6 Jan. 2022", "Just as optimism began to eke its way into the minds of corporate leaders, a wave of uncertainty reared its ugly head. \u2014 Brian Peccarelli, Forbes , 3 Jan. 2022", "So Gilmer looks for ways to eke more power out of the lines where congestion is a big problem. \u2014 Gregory Barber, Wired , 8 Dec. 2021", "To get to the Final Four in the first of back-to-back seasons, the Badgers had to eke past top-seeded Arizona in the Elite Eight, with a 64-63 thriller in overtime. \u2014 Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , 16 Nov. 2021", "And lots and lots of redwoods. Northern California is a treasure trove of memorable adventures for travelers hoping to eke every bit of enjoyment out of summer. \u2014 Los Angeles Times , 19 Aug. 2021" ], "history_and_etymology":{ "Middle English, from Old English \u0113ac ; akin to Old High German ouh also, Latin aut or, Greek au again":"Adverb", "Middle English, from Old English \u012becan, \u0113can ; akin to Old High German ouhh\u014dn to add, Latin aug\u0113re to increase, Greek auxein":"Verb" }, "first_known_use":{ "before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above":"Adverb", "before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1":"Verb" }, "time_of_retrieval":"20220709-063858" }, "eke out":{ "type":[ "verb" ], "definitions":{ ": to make up for the deficiencies of : supplement":[ "eked out his income by getting a second job" ], ": to make (a supply) last by economy":[] }, "pronounciation":[ "\u02c8\u0113k-\u02c8au\u0307t" ], "synonyms":[], "antonyms":[], "synonym_discussion":"", "examples":[ "eked out a living from the family's small farm" ], "history_and_etymology":{}, "first_known_use":{ "1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1":"" }, "time_of_retrieval":"20220709-223719" } }