IdiomTopic: money

make ends meet

/ˌmeɪk ˈendz ˈmiːt/NEUTRAL · C1

Meaning

to have just enough money to live on

Examples

1After paying rent and buying food, we barely made ends meet.
2Can a family make ends meet on a single part-time salary?
3Even with two jobs, I struggle to make ends meet; rent and groceries swallow my wages.
4The pension just covers her bills; she makes ends meet by growing her own vegetables.
5We made ends meet last winter, but there was nothing left for treats.

Grammar

Only make changes form. Keep ends plural and meet in its base form.

Similar in meaning

strapped for cash tighten your belt

More idioms about money

All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →

pay through the noseto pay far too much for something save for a rainy dayto keep money for future problems in the redowing money or losing money in the blackhaving more income than expenses a cash cowa reliable source of profit bring home the baconto earn money to support a family

English Idioms

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