WordWeb Online

1. Supplement what is thought to be deficient
   "He eked out his meagre pay by giving private lessons"; "Braque eked out his collages with charcoal";
   - fill out
    
2. Live from day to day, as with some hardship
   "He eked out his years in great poverty"
    
3. Make by laborious and precarious means
   "He eked out a living as a painter";
   - squeeze out
    
4. Obtain with difficulty
   "He eked out some information from the archives";
   - squeeze out

Derived forms: eked out, ekes out, eking out

Type of: bring in, clear, earn, gain, live, make, obtain, pull in [informal], realise [Brit], realize, supplement, take in