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

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

Luke says: "We need the money from the summer to get us through the winter. It's a hand-to-mouth kind of business in this area."

From BBC • May 18, 2023

Still, as you may see, this was only hand-to-mouth reading.

From The Library and Society Reprints of Papers and Addresses by Bostwick, Arthur Elmore