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
Climate & Environment How much worse will extreme heat get by 2050?
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Hannah Fingerhut, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
The first feature from director-writer Constance Tsang, the Cannes Critics’ Week title Blue Sun Palace, is set in Flushing, Queens, where two migrants, Amy from Taiwan and Didi from China,work in a massage parlor and struggle to get by.
—Shannon L. Bowen, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
With an off day on Thursday — their first in 16 games — the Giants were able to get by with four starters until then, optioning Black to back to Sacramento on Monday in favor of Nick Avila, who can provide some help out of the bullpen.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 14 May 2024
Seeing Bonds’ expressions of humanity — growing up, getting by, witnessing current events, surviving trauma and the threat of personal demise — is a rich pleasure.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 14 May 2024
Baltimore had just enough depth to get by without Bradish or Means.
—Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2024
Corona was able to get by with using pitcher Ethan Schiefelbein for four innings, then closing with Jake Skelskey for the final three innings.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
Scraping to get by, many single ladies don’t have enough for an emergency, at 29% compared to 20% of partnered women.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
For decades, childcare had been expensive and hard to get, but the pandemic wreaked havoc on an industry that was already barely getting by.
—Katherine Goldstein, TIME, 18 Apr. 2024
Hannah Fingerhut, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
The first feature from director-writer Constance Tsang, the Cannes Critics’ Week title Blue Sun Palace, is set in Flushing, Queens, where two migrants, Amy from Taiwan and Didi from China,work in a massage parlor and struggle to get by.
—Shannon L. Bowen, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
With an off day on Thursday — their first in 16 games — the Giants were able to get by with four starters until then, optioning Black to back to Sacramento on Monday in favor of Nick Avila, who can provide some help out of the bullpen.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 14 May 2024
Seeing Bonds’ expressions of humanity — growing up, getting by, witnessing current events, surviving trauma and the threat of personal demise — is a rich pleasure.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 14 May 2024
Baltimore had just enough depth to get by without Bradish or Means.
—Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2024
Corona was able to get by with using pitcher Ethan Schiefelbein for four innings, then closing with Jake Skelskey for the final three innings.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
Scraping to get by, many single ladies don’t have enough for an emergency, at 29% compared to 20% of partnered women.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
For decades, childcare had been expensive and hard to get, but the pandemic wreaked havoc on an industry that was already barely getting by.
—Katherine Goldstein, TIME, 18 Apr. 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 28 May. 2024.
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