Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To cause a liquid or substance to exit a container or material by applying pressure.
   • To obtain something (information, a living, etc.) with great difficulty or effort.
   • To force someone or something out of a position, place, or situation, often through pressure or competition.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • She squeezed out the last bit of toothpaste from the tube.
  • The reporter managed to squeeze out a statement from the reluctant official.
  • Smaller businesses are being squeezed out of the market by large corporations.

Advanced Usage

• "to squeeze out a living": to earn just enough money to survive, with great difficulty.
  • For years, he squeezed out a living by selling handmade crafts.
• "to squeeze out every last drop": to use something completely, leaving nothing; often used literally and figuratively.
  • The coach told the team to squeeze out every last drop of effort.

Variants and Related Words

• Squeeze (verb): To apply pressure, especially with the hands. (e.g., )
• Wring out (phrasal verb): To extract liquid by twisting and compressing. A close synonym in one context of 'squeeze out'. (e.g., )
• Eke out (phrasal verb): To make a supply last longer or obtain something with difficulty. Often used interchangeably with 'squeeze out' for obtaining a living or information. (e.g., )

Synonyms

• Extract: To remove or obtain something, often with effort.
• Force out: To compel someone to leave a position.
• Expel: To force something out.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Squeeze in: To manage to find time for someone or something.
  • I can squeeze in a quick meeting at 3 PM.
• Squeeze through: To barely manage to pass through a tight space or succeed in something.
  • The cat squeezed through the narrow gap in the fence.

Related Idioms

• Squeeze blood from a stone: To try to get something (like money or information) from a person or source that is very unlikely to provide it.
  • Getting him to apologize is like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

Verb

1. cause to come out in a squirt
   • the boy squirted water at his little sister
2. form or shape by forcing through an opening
   • extrude steel
3. obtain with difficulty
   • He eked out some information from the archives
4. extract (liquid) by squeezing or pressing
   • wring out the washcloth
5. make by laborious and precarious means
   • He eked out a living as a painter
6. force out
   • Some employees were squeezed out by the recent budget cuts