How to Use eke out in a Sentence

eke out

verb
  • Both sides are still trying to eke out an edge in the run-up.
    — Selina Wang, ABC News, 8 May 2026
  • Stocks are managing to eke out slight gains this week.
    — Pia Singh, CNBC, 4 Dec. 2025
  • And there are ways to eke out more life from a laptop battery too.
    — David Nield, WIRED, 9 July 2023
  • In the first quarter, most bond funds eked out gains, but barely.
    — Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
  • His wins allowed his new school to eke out the team title by one point.
    — ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026
  • What a lousy effort by the home team, which managed to eke out two hits.
    — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Mazuera Arias eked out a razor-thin win by less than 40 votes.
    — Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2025
  • In the end, that’s enough to eke out an ugly one in the Big Easy.
    — Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2024
  • Ampersand, as a small business, had to eke out a loan to jump into the fray.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2024
  • That’s true even if the average streaming show ekes out two seasons at most.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025
  • There is still enough sun to eke out another mild day with highs again in the low to mid-60s.
    — David Streit, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
  • Despite the show’s heavy subject matter, the team managed to eke out some fun on set.
    — Manori Ravindran, Variety, 22 July 2023
  • By that time, the car eked out 30 hp from its 1,200 cc engine.
    — Robert Ross, Robb Report, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Las Vegas was able to get two field goals and a safety in the second half to eke out the win.
    — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Then and only then can the Dolphins eke out their second win of the season.
    — Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Russians have eked out an existence for a thousand years by growing their own food.
    — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2026
  • The Dow ended the day down about 1%, but the Nasdaq eked out a small gain.
    — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Myki, our last performer, barely ekes out any screentime.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2026
  • All Gosling can eke out is a small grunt/sigh that will basically knock the air right out of your lungs.
    — Meredith Woerner, Variety, 4 May 2024
  • That was one of just three hits the Brewers managed to eke out Monday night.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024
  • From week one to week two, both shows eked out another 2% uptick in their audiences as well.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Can Trae Young avoid the overrated chants and help the Hawks eke out a win?
    — Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Green pointed to the close games in which Indiana was able to eke out wins in the fourth quarter.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Stocks closed in the green, eking out a small gain Friday and snapping a four-week losing streak.
    — Alain Sherter, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Shukri, a 20-year-old mother of four, usually can eke out one meal a day from handouts.
    — ABC News, 13 May 2026
  • Baltimore needs this game, and the Ravens are proving this season to be a team that finds ways to eke out wins.
    — cleveland, 1 Jan. 2023
  • So how does Karl eke out a minor victory over Marco?
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Even Dorit managed to eke out a years late apology to Garcelle.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2025
  • Filimon stood at the front of the crowd and asked what would happen to those trying to eke out a living digging for gold by hand.
    — Claire Wilmot & Gisa Tunbridge, The Dial, 12 June 2026
  • What seemed like an ideal mode of survival turns out to be even scarier than eking out an existence on their own.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 27 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eke out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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