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

See Examples For:

make ends meet

The number of people who have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet reached 9.4 million in November 2025, the highest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking that indicator in 1994.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

These arrangements are accompanied by a means-tested government age pension to help retirees whose superannuation isn’t sufficient to make ends meet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

A few years ago, he was flipping burgers in L.A., working at Starbucks, and taking whatever jobs he could find in the film or TV industry to make ends meet.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

"Our concern isn't Buy Now Pay Later itself. It's what can happen when people begin relying on multiple forms of credit simply to make ends meet," said Matthew Sheeran, its external relations manager.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Tracy figured she could pick up a part-time job in Atlanta to make ends meet.

From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John

Related Words

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