Make ends meet means to just about manage on your income, when there's only enough money for the basics. People say it about a salary, a pension or a grant, usually with struggle to or can barely. The phrase is neutral and works both in conversation and in an essay about poverty or prices.
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make ends meet; struggle to / can barely + make ends meet; make ends meet on + income
- When I was a student, I worked weekends at a café to make ends meet.
- Many families struggle to make ends meet when energy prices go up.
What changed
First versionWith two kids and one salary, it's hard to bring the ends together.
RevisionWith two kids and one salary, it's hard to make ends meet.
Bring the ends together is a word-for-word version of an image used in some other languages. In English the ends aren't brought together; they're made to meet: make ends meet, with no article. Only that part was changed.
Make ends meet is only about money. When a story has details that don't fit together, people say it doesn't add up: His story doesn't add up. Make a living simply means to earn the money you live on, with no sense of not having enough.
Your turn
With rent so high in the city centre, many young people can barely ___.
Show the answer
make ends meet — Rent is high, and young people barely have enough money, so make ends meet. Bring ends together is a literal translation, and native speakers don't say it.
Describe a time when money was tight for you or people you know. Say what the money went on and how you managed to make ends meet.
During my first year in Moscow, most of my salary went on rent, so I made ends meet by cooking at home and walking to work.
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