Word of the Day for Sunday July 24, 2005 eke \EEK\, transitive verb: 1. To gain or supplement with great effort or difficulty -- used with 'out'. 2. To increase or make last by being economical -- used with 'out'. When the PRI unites around a candidate and the two opposition parties divide the rest of the vote, the ruling party can usually eke out a victory. --Mary Beth Sheridan, "PRI Wins Mexico State Governor's Race, but Loses Smaller Stronghold," [1]Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1999 Inevitably, the prodigious footnotes get in the way of what is, basically, a simple parable. Like the wide margins the publishers use to eke out a skimpy text, they make the novel seem bigger than it is. --James MacBride "What Did Myra Want?" [2]New York Times, February 18, 1968 Although life was hard it was not unendurable, and the rugged and resourceful villagers eked out a living on the thin crust of the soil. --Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins, [3]Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet But the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies managed to eke out a gain, rising 0.04 points, to 456.55. --Kenneth N. Gilpin, "Tuesday's Stocks: Selloff Leaves Stocks Slightly Lower," [4]New York Times, July 7, 1999 _________________________________________________________ Eke is from Old English ecan, "to increase." References 1. http://www.latimes.com/ 2. http://www.nytimes.com/ 3. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1851682678/ref=nosim/lexico 4. http://www.nytimes.com/ Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=eke