make a living

1. Earn enough to support oneself, as in Can he make a living as a freelance trumpeter? This term was first recorded in 1632.

Example Sentences

They are also causing some fish species around South Korea to migrate, according to the country's National Institute of Fisheries Science, forcing fisherman to travel further and take greater risks to catch enough to make a living.

Read more on BBC

"If we stayed closer to shore it would be safer, but to make a living we have to go farther out."

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“I remember I was trying to find a way to make a living out of music and introduce myself to other artists,” he says over the phone, recalling all the demos he had recorded and presented to artists he’d cross paths with.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

I was a photographer — and I wanted to make a living as a photographer.

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By everybody, he means both jewelry thieves and the private investigating firms who make a living hunting them down.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• back 
• encourage 
• finance 
• fund 
• maintain 
• raise 
• set up 
• sponsor 
• strengthen 
• subsidize 
• uphold