eke

¹ American  

[eek] / ik /

verb (used with object)

eked, eking

1. to increase; enlarge; lengthen.

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verb phrase

1. eke out

   1. to make (a living) or support (existence) laboriously.

      They managed to eke out a living by farming a small piece of land.

   2. to supplement; add to; stretch.

      to eke out an income with odd jobs.

eke ² American  

[eek] / ik /

adverb

Archaic.

1. also.

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eke ¹ British  

/ iːk /

verb

1. archaic (tr) to increase, enlarge, or lengthen

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eke ² British  

/ iːk /

1. archaic also; moreover

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Etymology

Origin of eke¹

before 1000; Middle English eken, Old English ēac ( i ) an (intransitive), derivative of ēaca (noun) increase; Middle English echen, Old English ēcan, variant of īecan (transitive) < West Germanic *aukjan; both akin to Old Norse auka, Gothic aukan, Latin augēre, Greek auxánein to increase, amplify

Origin of eke²

before 900; Middle English eek, Old English ēc, ēac; cognate with German auch, Old Norse, Gothic auk

Example Sentences

The economy should eke out a 1.5% growth rate in the first quarter, but will start the April-June quarter “on really bad footing.”

From MarketWatch

Stock market volatility can be grueling on your nerves, but it can also create opportunities to eke out some tax savings.

From Barron's

“They’re trying to eke more out of the program, but spousal benefits are tricky. That’s why people still need a rulebook,” she said.

From MarketWatch

"I just decided on Christmas Day how I was going to start this season. I decided what I was going to do mentally and I'm going to continue to tweak that. I do think there's more to come. I think I can still eke out more performance from this car. I'm still learning about it as I go."

From BBC

Moshiri sank more of Chevron’s own money into PdVSA’s ventures to eke out modest returns.

From The Wall Street Journal