Synonyms of hand-to-mouth

hand-to-mouth

adjective

ˈhan(d)-tə-ˈmau̇th 

as in sparse

less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable

survived on a hand-to-mouth income that came from any odd job that he could find

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sparse
• scarce
• poor
• scanty
• meager
• scant
• lowest
• skimpy
• small
• exiguous
• stingy
• lacking
• mere
• slender
• sparing
• minimal
• light
• short
• inadequate
• insufficient
• spare
• slim
• thin on the ground
• deficient
• skimp
• bare-bones
• thin
• least
• slightest
• wanting
• sterile
• littlest
• unproductive
• slight
• unfruitful
• bare
• barren
• infertile

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abundant
• liberal
• adequate
• satisfactory
• generous
• sufficient
• ample
• copious
• enough
• plentiful
• bountiful
• tolerable
• rich
• fertile
• prolific
• fruitful
• fat
• lavish
• flourishing
• thriving
• luxuriant
• plenteous
• fecund
• excess
• extra
• bursting
• surplus
• proliferative
• teeming
• swarming
• blooming

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hand-to-mouth

At the start of The Big Fake, a Netflix dramatization of one criminal’s involvement in the most tumultuous events in post-war Italy, Toni Chichiarelli (Pietro Castellitto) is a talented painter living hand-to-mouth as a portrait artist on the streets of Rome. — Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026

The occupants of this Neolithic housing development were not hand-to-mouth hunter-gatherers but settled inhabitants of a fertile floodplain. — Literary Hub, 26 Jan. 2026

The film is not blind to how easily big dreams can be derailed, especially for the hand-to-mouth creative class in a Midwestern outpost. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026

While their musician patriarch is on the road, the eldest sibling has become the clear-eyed voice of discipline in the household who struggles with the strain of their hand-to-mouth life. — Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 20 Dec. 2025