scrape by
verb
scraped by; scraping by; scrapes by
1
: to live with barely enough money : to be able to buy only the things most needed
Money was tight, but we somehow managed to scrape by.
2
: to succeed at doing something but just barely
He didn't study for the exam and just barely scraped by.
Examples of scrape by in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The family lived in a trailer, scraping by while trying to give their son a shot at an unlikely dream.
—
Preston Fore, Fortune, 15 June 2026
Unlike the boho types of Girls and last year’s Adults, who scrape by in the outer boroughs, however, these pals live in Manhattan’s fratty Murray Hill neighborhood.
—Judy Berman, Time, 1 June 2026
It's also walled off its site from being scraped by external agents.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 27 May 2026
The other is barely scraping by.
—R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrape by
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Preston Fore, Fortune, 15 June 2026
Unlike the boho types of Girls and last year’s Adults, who scrape by in the outer boroughs, however, these pals live in Manhattan’s fratty Murray Hill neighborhood.
—Judy Berman, Time, 1 June 2026
It's also walled off its site from being scraped by external agents.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 27 May 2026
The other is barely scraping by.
—R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrape by
Cite this Entry
“Scrape by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrape%20by. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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