get by

verb

got by; got by or gotten by; getting by; gets by

intransitive verb

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 of get by

• cope
• do
• get on
• get along
• manage

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

Those five goals came on 14 shots, the last from the left point by Hedman that somehow got by Hart late in the second. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026

State police said all northbound lanes of the Bishop Ford were shut down after the crash, but traffic still got by on the right shoulder. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Machine Gun Kelly got by in Miami with a little help from his friends. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026

And while policymakers fight about how to solve these crises, regular New Yorkers are just trying to figure out how to get by. — Liz Krueger, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for get by

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

Kids Definition

get by

verb

1

: to make ends meet : manage

2

: to succeed with the least possible effort or accomplishment