earn a living

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)

1. Alternative form of make a living
   • 1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, pages 13–14:

     We could never understand why any man should choose the career of a chainsmith, except, possibly, for the reason that it ran in the family, for a more arduous and unpleasant manner of earning one's living could scarcely be imagined, unless it was the business of moulding permanent-way chairs in an iron foundry.

• earn one's living