Dictionary

make ends meet en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps originally referred to the ends of rope meeting, signifying continuity and therefore security and stability. Perhaps shifting later to refer to the attempt at making money last from one pay period to the next (i.e. the ends), thereby leaving no gap or break in the availability of funds. Compare French joindre les deux bouts (literally “join the two ends”) with the same meaning. The form make both ends meet is attested from the 17th century, and was the more common form until the early-to-mid 20th century.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To have enough money to cover expenses; to get by financially; to get through the pay period (sufficient to meet the next payday).
   • Although most of the poor and displaced in Khartoum struggle to make ends meet, a very small number not only find work, but form small co-operatives. 1996, Chris Peters, Sudan: A Nation in the Balance, page 42:
   • Investigators discover that Captain Ospina was forced to take a second job, moonlighting in a bar, in order to make ends meet for his family. 2011 August 19, Carl Knutson, “The Plane That Flew Too High” (41:00 from the start), in Mayday: Air Disaster, season 11, episode 2, spoken by Jonathan Aris:
   • Very many Londoners reported to us that they were struggling to make ends meet; that it was a constant battle to keep their heads above water, or that they had only just got into the position of being able to breathe freely. 2007, Peter Geoffrey Hall, London Voices, London Lives, page 269:
   • TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes was typically forthright in his criticism by claiming that Sunak had "blatantly failed" to cure "a growing tragedy", as "every single day, more and more families can't make ends meet". 2022 April 6, “Network News: Spring Statement: Sunak accused of making rail less competitive”, in RAIL, number 954, page 8:
   • 'Cause it's a bitter sweet symphony that's life / Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to money then you die 1997, Richard Ashcroft, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, performed by The Verve:
   • ... a schoolmaster, whose income being small, he was fain to keep a glass of good liquor for the entertainment of passengers, by which he made shift to make the two ends of the year meet. 1748, Tobias Smollett, “The Adventures of Roderick Random”, in The Miscellaneous works of Tobias Smollett, page 18:
   • Barclays, which until now has made ends meet with costly loans from the Middle East rather than take public money, may soon join the queue for the emergency medicine too. 2009 February 27, “Avarice and Audacity”, in The Guardian, UK:

Forms

Relateds

make both ends meet · make a living

Translations (40)

es hacer alcanzar el / al dinero (get by financially) · it far quadrare i conti (get by financially) · es ir mal viviendo (get by financially) · cs vyjít s penězi (get by financially) · it sbarcare il lunario (get by financially) · lv savilkt galus kopā (get by financially) · es hacer que alcance el dinero (get by financially) · es apañarselas (get by financially) · nl de eindjes aan elkaar knopen (get by financially) · fi saada rahat riittämään (get by financially) · tr ayın sonunu getirmek (get by financially) · it arrotondare lo stipendio (get by financially) · cs vystačit s penězi do příští výplaty (get by financially) · pt conseguir pagar as contas (get by financially) · es rebuscárselas (get by financially) · gd eadar am bogha is an t-sreang (get by financially) · cmn 維持生活 /维持生活 (get by financially) · pt chegar ao fim do mês (get by financially) · br sec'hañ an eil dorn gant egile (get by financially) · es arreglárselas (get by financially) · es llegar a fin de mes (get by financially) · es ir tirando (get by financially) · de über den Monat kommen (get by financially) · sv få ekonomin att gå ihop (get by financially) · fr joindre les deux bouts (get by financially) · hu kijön a fizetéséből (get by financially) · it arrivare a fine mese (get by financially) · cmn 量入為出 /量入为出 (get by financially) · ko 입에 풀칠하다 (get by financially) · nb få endene til å møtes (get by financially) · hu ki tud jönni (pénzéből/fizetéséből) (get by financially) · wa ranukî ses corons eshonne (get by financially) · bg свъ́рзвам два́та кра́я (get by financially) · hu kijön a pénzéből (get by financially) · pl wiązać koniec z końcem (get by financially) · es redondear el presupuesto (get by financially) · he גמר את החודש (get by financially) · nl rondkomen (get by financially) · ru своди́ть концы с концами (get by financially) · de über die Runden kommen (get by financially)