verb phrase · neutral
make ends meet
/meɪk ɛndz miːt/make·ENDS·meet
to have just enough money to pay for your basic needs
Examples
“After her hours were cut, she had to take a second job to make ends meet.”
“Many students rely on part-time work to make ends meet while studying.”
“With rising rents it’s becoming harder for young couples to make ends meet.”
Band 8 sentence
“With inflation and stagnant wages, an increasing number of households are forced to make ends meet by working multiple jobs.”
Collocations
- barely make ends meet
- struggle to make ends meet
- try to make ends meet
Word family
Common mistakes
make an end meet→make ends meet
make ends meets→make ends meet
Say it for a higher band
5get by→6struggle to pay bills→7+make ends meet
Synonyms
get by
live hand to mouth
Easily confused
get by
“He could get by on that wage for a while, but unexpected bills would cause problems.”
Related words
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In Shopping & Money
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