hand-to-mouth

American  

[hand-tuh-mouth] / ˈhænd təˈmaʊθ /

adjective

1. offering or providing the barest livelihood, sustenance, or support; meager; precarious.

   a hand-to-mouth existence.

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hand-to-mouth British  

adjective

1. with barely enough money or food to satisfy immediate needs

   a hand-to-mouth existence

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Etymology

Origin of hand-to-mouth

First recorded in 1500–10

Example Sentences

The challenges of hand-to-mouth were not at all theoretical.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

I have always lived hand-to-mouth, and live in a very small mountain town.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 21, 2025

"Obviously one of the issues of a hand-to-mouth scheme... it's very difficult for councils to take long-term decisions about running the schemes," he says.

From BBC • Sep. 8, 2024

Named zeug after the German word for “stuff,” the utensil is a mediator for the intimacy of the hand-to-mouth gesture.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2024

There followed three similar years of a hand-to-mouth existence, the privations of which he endured in silence.

From David Dunne A Romance of the Middle West by Maniates, Belle Kanaris