eke
LowFormal, Literary, Archaic
Definition
Meaning
To supplement or make a limited supply (especially of income) last or go further by adding something else or managing it carefully.
To obtain or achieve something with effort or difficulty; to barely manage.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Now almost exclusively used in the fixed phrase 'eke out'. In contemporary usage, it often implies a sense of scarcity, difficulty, or making something insufficient last or work.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in contemporary usage, which is rare in both varieties. The word is equally archaic/formal in both.
Connotations
Literary, old-fashioned, formal. In both varieties, it suggests a struggle with limited resources.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in modern corpora for both. Slightly more likely to be encountered in historical texts or formal/literary writing.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
SVOO (Subject + Verb + Object1 + Object2): 'He eked a living from the land.'SVO (Subject + Verb + Object): 'They eked out their savings.'Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “eke out a living”
- “eke out an existence”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare. Could be used in discussions of cost-saving or resource management: 'The department must eke out its remaining budget.'
Academic
Rare, but possible in historical or socio-economic contexts describing subsistence.
Everyday
Virtually never used in casual conversation. Would be considered a very formal or literary choice.
Technical
Not used in technical contexts.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Many families had to eke out their rations during the war.
- The writer eked out a meagre income from freelance articles.
American English
- The team managed to eke out a narrow victory in the final seconds.
- He ekes out a living doing odd jobs.
adverb
British English
- Not applicable. 'Eke' is not used as an adverb in modern English.
American English
- Not applicable. 'Eke' is not used as an adverb in modern English.
adjective
British English
- Not applicable. 'Eke' is not used as an adjective in modern English.
American English
- Not applicable. 'Eke' is not used as an adjective in modern English.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- They had little food but tried to eke it out for a week.
- The small shop ekes out a profit.
- The artist eked out a precarious existence before achieving fame.
- The government had to eke out its foreign currency reserves.
- By carefully rationing fuel, the expedition managed to eke out their supplies until rescue arrived.
- The novelist eked out the plot of her final book over a decade, adding fragments as inspiration struck.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a weak (sounds like 'eke') person trying hard to make their small meal last.
Conceptual Metaphor
RESOURCE IS A STRETCHABLE MATERIAL (to be eked out).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Not related to the Russian word 'икать' (to hiccup).
- False friend with the Russian prefix 'ек-' as in 'екзамен' (exam).
- The core idea is 'добывать/получать с трудом' or 'растягивать (скудные ресурсы)'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'eke' without 'out' (e.g., 'He ekes a living' is archaic; modern usage is 'He ekes *out* a living').
- Confusing it with 'leek' (the vegetable).
- Using it to mean simply 'get' or 'earn' without the connotation of scarcity or difficulty.
Practice
Quiz
What is the most common modern usage of the word 'eke'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
In contemporary English, it is almost always used in the phrasal verb 'eke out'. The standalone use is archaic.
It generally has a neutral-to-negative connotation, associated with scarcity, difficulty, and barely managing with insufficient resources.
No, it is a low-frequency word considered formal or literary. It is rarely used in everyday spoken English.
Yes, you can 'eke out a victory' or 'eke out a win', meaning to achieve it narrowly or with great difficulty.