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
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
Tracee Ellis Ross always gets by with a little help from her girlfriends.
—
Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 30 June 2025
At last Friday’s re-inspection, May Fu got by enough to reopen with a Follow-Up Inspection Required.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
And in 2023, the average American estimated that a family of four needed $85,000 per year to get by, an amount difficult to achieve on one income.
—Anna North, Vox, 26 June 2025
But relying solely on these solutions often means companies are just getting by.
—Bek Abdullayev, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for get by
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 30 June 2025
At last Friday’s re-inspection, May Fu got by enough to reopen with a Follow-Up Inspection Required.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
And in 2023, the average American estimated that a family of four needed $85,000 per year to get by, an amount difficult to achieve on one income.
—Anna North, Vox, 26 June 2025
But relying solely on these solutions often means companies are just getting by.
—Bek Abdullayev, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for get by
Cite this Entry
“Get by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20by. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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