earn a living
Verb
Meaning
earn a living (third-person singular simple present earns a living, present participle earning a living, simple past and past participle earned a living or earnt a living)
Alternative form of make a living
Synonyms
Related terms
Examples
It is clear that thought is not free if the profession of certain opinions makes it impossible to earn a living.
I was a born troublemaker and might as well earn a living at it.
Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four.
The Americans have always been more open to my ideas. In fact, I could earn a living in America just by lecturing. One of my brightest audiences, incidentally, were the prisoners in a Philadelphia gaol - brighter than my students at university.
We must do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living.
But if you can create an honorable livelihood, where you take your skills and use them and you earn a living from it, it gives you a sense of freedom and allows you to balance your life the way you want.