The English We Speak Podcast

To eke out means to make the supply of something last a bit longer, but using it carefully. It's what you do when you only have a small quantity of something and you want it to last as long as possible. Some examples: Because of the storm, we had to eking out food plies before we could get to the shops again. Our crops have failed this year, so we can hardly eke out a living. I've lost my job, so i need to eke out what savings i have to survive. This is the english we speak from b b c learning English.