make ends meet

Cultural  

1. To earn enough income to provide for basic needs: “The workers complained that on their present wages they could hardly make ends meet, let alone enjoy any luxuries.”

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make ends meet Idioms  

1. Manage so that one's financial means are enough for one's needs, as in On that salary Enid had trouble making ends meet. This expression originated as make both ends meet, a translation from the French joindre les deux bouts (by John Clarke, 1639). The ends, it is assumed, allude to the sum total of income and expenditures. However, naval surgeon and novelist Tobias Smollett had it as “make the two ends of the year meet” (Roderick Random, 1748), thought to go back to the common practice of splicing rope ends together in order to cut shipboard expenses.

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Example Sentences

While inflation has slowed sharply, many Argentines say they still struggle to make ends meet, and polls suggest growing fatigue with Milei’s combative style.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

"I don't know what to do instead to make ends meet," she said.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

More revenue allows states like California to invest in programs designed to help struggling residents make ends meet, Hoene said.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

Analysts say that most people in Sierra Leone are more concerned with the daily struggle to make ends meet, than with thinking about Leijdekkers.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

Black families, often working very hard to make ends meet, wanted to clearly define which behavior was acceptable and which was not.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Related Words

• collect
• conserve
• keep
• maintain
• manage
• spare
• store