eke out

eke out — idiom

1. to use what little remains of a supply in a slow, deliberate way — taking only t

1.idiomtransitiveB2
Definition

to use what little remains of a supply in a slow, deliberate way — taking only tiny amounts at a time because the supply is nearly gone and every bit counts

Example

Heloísa eked out the last of the rice to feed six guests.

eke out + the last of [resource]

The hikers eked out their water sip by sip in the desert heat.

Common collocations
  • eke out the last of
  • eke out supplies
Synonyms
  • ration

    implies a deliberate limit, often set by an authority

  • conserve

    broader; avoid wasting a resource, not always because of scarcity

  • husband

    formal; manage limited resources with great care

Antonyms
  • squander

    use wastefully rather than carefully

Grammar Patterns

eke out + [resource]

Usage Note

This sense foregrounds the careful, slow manner of consumption — taking tiny amounts deliberately. Distinguish from STRETCH SUPPLIES (phrasal verb/1), which focuses on making a supply span a defined time period, and CONSERVE (verb/2), which focuses on thrifty calculation and avoiding waste.

Common Mistakes

I eked out the milk quickly because it was going bad.
I eked out the milk because I could not afford more.
'eke out' means using carefully to make something last, not using quickly to avoid waste.

eke out — phrasal verb

eke out — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: phrasal verb/2

'Eke out a living' and 'scrape by' both describe survival on very little, but 'scrape by' is more informal and suggests active struggle — you picture someone barely covering each bill. 'Get by' is the mildest of the group: you may not have much, but there is no strong sense of hardship. 'Subsist' is formal and clinical, often used in academic or humanitarian writing about people living at the most basic level. 'Make ends meet' focuses specifically on matching income to expenses; it implies a careful balancing act rather than the drawn-out, grinding difficulty that 'eke out a living' conveys. For example, a student who works evenings to pay rent is 'making ends meet,' but a family in a refugee camp surviving on weekly rations is 'eking out an existence.'

scrape by ↗get by ↗subsist ↗make ends meet ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Eke' comes from the Old English word 'ēcan,' meaning 'to increase or enlarge.' The original sense of 'eke out' was 'to supplement or add to something that is lacking' — a meaning that survives today in formal usage (e.g. 'eke out a thin salary with extra work'). Over time, the phrase shifted from 'adding to' to 'making something last by using it sparingly,' which became the dominant modern meaning. Both senses have coexisted since the 16th century.

First known use

1596

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1