idiom · neutral
make ends meet
/meɪk ɛndz miːt/MAKE·ENDS·MEET
to have just enough money to pay for the things you need
Examples
“After losing his part‑time job, he had to work extra hours just to make ends meet.”
“Many students find it hard to make ends meet while studying away from home.”
“Despite two salaries, the rising rent meant the couple could barely make ends meet.”
Band 8 sentence
“Even with two jobs, many low‑income families struggle to make ends meet because housing and utility costs have risen faster than wages.”
Collocations
- barely make ends meet
- struggle to make ends meet
- help someone make ends meet
Word family
Common mistakes
translate word-by-word: "làm các cái đầu gặp nhau"→xoay xở đủ sống / xoay xở đủ tiền
I made ends meet last year.→I managed to make ends meet last year.
Say it for a higher band
5manage money→6get by→7+make ends meet
Synonyms
get by
scrape by
Easily confused
get by
“He can get by on a small salary for now.”
scrape by
“We scraped by during the first year after moving here.”
Related words
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In Money
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