English idiom · neutral · spoken & written · BrE & AmE
make ends meet: meaning and examples
make ends meet means have just enough money to pay for essential living costs.
Los «ends» siempre van en plural. Habla de cubrir necesidades, no de ganar mucho dinero.
واژه «ends» همیشه جمع است. این اصطلاح درباره تأمین نیازهای اصلی است، نه درآمد زیاد.
„Ends“ steht immer im Plural. Gemeint ist das Decken der Grundkosten, nicht ein hohes Einkommen.
« Ends » reste toujours au pluriel. L’expression parle de couvrir les dépenses essentielles, pas de gagner beaucoup.
Memory hook: Picture your income and expenses as two ends of a rope that must touch.
How to use “make ends meet”
- It’s difficult to make ends meet on one salary.
- She took a second job to make ends meet.
- Many families are struggling to make ends meet.
Common mistake: The fixed noun is plural: make ends meet. Do not say “make the end meet”.
Learn it in context
This expression belongs to Lesson 3, where you can compare it with other idioms about money and practise it interactively.
Open the full lesson →