What does eke mean?
To eke is to make a scarce resource — money, food, time, or an advantage — last longer or go further through careful management, struggle, or supplementation. In modern English the word survives almost entirely in the phrasal verb 'to eke out': people eke out a living, eke out an existence, or eke out a narrow victory. The phrase carries strong connotations of hardship and frugality, suggesting that success is being achieved only with great difficulty against unfavourable odds. A writer might say a family eked out their savings between jobs, or that a candidate eked out a win by a handful of votes. The word is somewhat literary or journalistic in register, appearing more often in print than in casual conversation. Its near-total confinement to a single phrase makes 'eke' a fascinating example of how English preserves verbs as fossils within fixed expressions long after their independent use has faded.
verbTo make something, typically a supply or income, last longer or go further by supplementing it sparingly; used almost exclusively in the phrasal form 'eke out'.
- To make a limited supply of something last longer by using it sparingly or supplementing it with effort (almost always in 'eke out').
- (Archaic) to increase or add to something.
"She managed to eke out her savings until she found a new job."
"The farmers eked out a meager living from the rocky soil."
"With careful rationing, they eked out their food supplies through the long winter."
'Eke' survives today only inside one phrase — 'eke out' — making it a linguistic fossil you use without realizing it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of eke
'Eke' comes from the Old English verb ēacian, meaning 'to increase' or 'to augment', derived from ēaca, 'an increase'. It is cognate with Dutch ook and German auch, both meaning 'also', which descend from the same Proto-Germanic root conveying addition or augmentation. The sense narrowed over the Middle English period from general 'increasing' to the specific idea of stretching a limited supply further, giving rise to 'eke out'. An archaic adverbial 'eke' meaning 'also' survives in older literature, famously in Chaucer.
How eke is actually used
'Eke' is now virtually bound to the phrasal verb 'eke out'; it appears almost exclusively in writing or formal speech and often carries connotations of hardship, scarcity, or narrowly achieved success.
Easily confused with eke
'Eek' is an exclamation of fear or alarm, while 'eke' is a verb meaning to make a supply last longer.