earn a living

idiom

: to earn the money needed for food, clothing, etc.
She's just trying to earn a living.

Examples of earn a living in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The company argues any effort to force a sale violates the free speech rights of its 170 million U.S. users, and could damage small businesses who use the app, and content creators who rely on it to earn a living. Deirdre Walsh, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024 Protecting forests in one area may result in deforestation elsewhere as communities affected by conservation projects move to earn a living. Taiwo Adebayo, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2024 Dateline To earn a living, Sessions painted houses. Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2023 Many graffiti artists would love to earn a living from their work. Frank Shyong, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024 Morgan Thomsen grew up in a remote part of Idaho where his parents were fire lookouts, so he was raised thinking that fighting fire was a good way to earn a living. ProPublica, 16 Mar. 2024 From our 2nd Amendment rights, to the right to life, to the right to earn a living for one’s family without being burdened by unreasonable regulations, Texans have a pioneer spirit and way of life which must be protected. Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2024 And the many migrants who earn a living by working on the streets -- the thousands that sell street food, push carts of fruit through searingly hot alleys during the day, or work at construction sites -- are often the most vulnerable. Jae C. Hong and Aniruddha Ghosal The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 10 Feb. 2024 There are people trying to figure out how to earn a living. Terence McGinley, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'earn a living.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Earn a living.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earn%20a%20living. Accessed 2 May. 2024.

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