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hand-to-mouth

American

[hand-tuh-mouth] / ˈhænd təˈmaʊθ /

adjective

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

a hand-to-mouth existence.

hand-to-mouth British

adjective

with barely enough money or food to satisfy immediate needs

a hand-to-mouth existence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hand-to-mouth

First recorded in 1500–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

hand-to-mouth

Like many South Africans, most workers in the area live hand-to-mouth, with no savings to fall back on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025

She noted that “younger kids are at higher risk because they have more hand-to-mouth behavior.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025

It’s still pretty much a hand-to-mouth existence for him.

From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2023

He has a hand-to-mouth, nomad existence, ending in the inevitable frozen misery of the workhouse.

From The Hills and the Vale by Richard Jefferies

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023