Thesaurus:make a living

Thesaurus

make a living

English

Verb

Sense: to sustain oneself

Synonyms

• bring home the bacon
• carry one's weight
• earn a living
• earn one's corn
• earn one's crust
• earn one's keep
• keep the home fires burning
• put bread on the table
• put food on the table

Hyponyms

Degree: just barely

• get along
• get by
• keep body and soul together
• keep the lights on
• keep the wolf from the door
• make do
• make ends meet
• muddle through
• scrape along
• scrape by
• scratch a living
• scratch by

Degree: handily, with room to spare

• coin it
• kill it
• make a bundle
• make a fortune
• make a killing
• make a mint
• make bank
• make money
• rake it in

Means:

• turn an honest penny

Various

• daily bread
• living wage
• pay the bills
• pay the rent

Further reading

• “775. acquisition” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.
• “make a living” in Moby Thesaurus II, Grady Ward, 1996.