get by
verb
got by; got by or gotten by; getting by; gets by
1
: to succeed with the least possible effort or accomplishment
2
: to make ends meet : survive
3
: to proceed without being discovered, criticized, or punished
Synonyms
Examples of get by in a Sentence
working at night paid my college tuition and enabled me to get by—but just barely
Recent Examples on the Web
Many real estate agents already were struggling to get by in a housing market plagued by high prices and low inventory.
—
Rachel Lerman, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
On Wednesday night’s (March 6) season 11 premier of The Masked Singer, host Nick Cannon got totally got by his comedy pal Kevin Hart, who made a surprise guest appearance in the clunky Book costume.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 7 Mar. 2024
And, seniors across the wealth distribution got a boost, although people at the top got by far the biggest increases.
—Michael Sasso, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
Apparently, the Roto Rooter man or a reasonable facsimile got by there by the next day’s re-inspection because Hook was back open by the next evening.
House of Cheung, 499 NE 20th St., Boca Raton: Routine inspection, six total violations, six High Priority violations.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2024
The band was making just enough money to get by, hardly sleeping, and driving from gig to gig as Giddens sat in the back seat, fastening CDs or holding her newborn.
—Janay Kingsberry, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
Canada, which scored 13 goals in its group without conceding a goal, got by Costa Rica 1-0 in extra time in its quarterfinal match.
—CBS News, 7 Mar. 2024
One of the main concerns for city officials was keeping enough space on sidewalks for people to get by.
—Michael Slaten, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2024
But most Zimbabweans struggle to get by, coping with triple-digit inflation that has made their currency practically worthless.
—John Eligon, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Rachel Lerman, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
On Wednesday night’s (March 6) season 11 premier of The Masked Singer, host Nick Cannon got totally got by his comedy pal Kevin Hart, who made a surprise guest appearance in the clunky Book costume.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 7 Mar. 2024
And, seniors across the wealth distribution got a boost, although people at the top got by far the biggest increases.
—Michael Sasso, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
Apparently, the Roto Rooter man or a reasonable facsimile got by there by the next day’s re-inspection because Hook was back open by the next evening.
House of Cheung, 499 NE 20th St., Boca Raton: Routine inspection, six total violations, six High Priority violations.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2024
The band was making just enough money to get by, hardly sleeping, and driving from gig to gig as Giddens sat in the back seat, fastening CDs or holding her newborn.
—Janay Kingsberry, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
Canada, which scored 13 goals in its group without conceding a goal, got by Costa Rica 1-0 in extra time in its quarterfinal match.
—CBS News, 7 Mar. 2024
One of the main concerns for city officials was keeping enough space on sidewalks for people to get by.
—Michael Slaten, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2024
But most Zimbabweans struggle to get by, coping with triple-digit inflation that has made their currency practically worthless.
—John Eligon, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'get by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near get by
Cite this Entry
“Get by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20by. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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