How to Use make a living in a Sentence

make a living

phrase
  • Most just want a chance to make a living.
    — Joanna Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025
  • At the end of the day, the vendor's got to make a living too.
    — Alexis Davies, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2023
  • The providers barely make a living wage.
    — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
  • What happens with all of these fields where no one can make a living anymore?
    — Jenn Pelly, Pitchfork, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The artists need to make a living and the theater has never been a place to get rich.
    — Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025
  • And there are a lot of people who make a living in a lot of different ways.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2025
  • It was looked at as a viable way to make a living and an honest living at that.
    — Sid Evans, Southern Living, 23 Sep. 2025
  • The whole idea of small-scale brewing and trying to make a living was unheard of.
    — Alice Barlow, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2024
  • Some attribute burnout to concerns over wanting to keep their job and make a living.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022
  • This makes fine sense, especially if you’re bound to make a living off it.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 July 2025
  • Bulky or ornate couch styles can make a living room feel outdated.
    — Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 3 Feb. 2026
  • But that's easier said than done when most athletes don't make a living in their sport.
    — Emma Bowman, NPR, 17 Apr. 2024
  • Then my father had to go out and make a living, scavenging on the streets to bring food home.
    — Juan Claudio Matossian, Vanity Fair, 19 July 2026
  • Throwing a wedding in order to receive gifts is a tough way to make a living.
    — Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 10 May 2024
  • A lot of people can be creative, but not a lot can make a living being creative.
    — Billboard Staff, Billboard, 27 Oct. 2022
  • And some of those who make a living in comedy are not holding back on their opinions.
    — Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023
  • Do the waiters at your favorite restaurant rely on tips to make a living?
    — Emma Janssen, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2024
  • This was about 12 years ago, and then I got sidetracked by the need to make a living.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2024
  • Both of them are married to spouses who make a living, both of them are active students.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2024
  • Anybody that has moved here and requires to make a living in any respect depends on tourism.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
  • It's also still used by artists and entertainers to share their work and make a living.
    — Max Eddy, PCMAG, 1 June 2023
  • There’s a strong message there to all young musicians who want to make a living from music.
    — Griselda Flores, Billboard, 14 Dec. 2023
  • But the people who make a living from words are not the only ones who lose out in a postliterate age.
    — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • For him, running a store was a better way to make a living than working in a factory.
    — Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 18 Sep. 2024
  • Many of those who make a living on the service also complain that a ban would hurt their businesses.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 30 May 2024
  • As someone with no plans to make a living off fiction, the downsides for me seem more personal.
    — Adi Robertson, The Verge, 24 May 2023
  • Jobs and cash for work programs are needed so that Syrians can start to make a living.
    — arkansasonline.com, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Someone trying to keep the clicks coming to make a living, or a leader of the repressed?
    — Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Use light curtains to make a living room feel more spacious and welcome natural light.
    — Nishaa Sharma, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026
  • That’s not my particular hangup, though my ability to make a living from them is.
    — Liana Finck, New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'make 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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