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

See Examples For:

hand-to-mouth

“It’s just literally hand-to-mouth, what we can get out of the fab and what we can get to customers is how we’re managing it,” said Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026

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

At the time, the scientific consensus was that humans were simple scavengers who lived hand-to-mouth until about 40,000 years ago.

From New York Times ● May 4, 2024

It was the inheritance of the hand-to-mouth system in which everything had been commenced in early days.

From My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills by James Johnstone, chevalier de Johnstone