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

• 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

Be sure to arrive early to hear the 6:30 p.m. opening get by the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory All-Stars, a gifted group of students from the music school Castellanos founded here in 2013. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2025

These results don't bode well for graphically intense uses like gaming and video editing, but basic graphics processing will get by just fine on this laptop. —Sherri L. Smith, PC Magazine, 29 July 2025

The Who got by just fine with four members in their heyday. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2025

Pakistan Dispatch: How one man gets by in the unbearable and inescapable heat of Pakistan’s biggest and most unlivable city. —Leily Nikounazar Arash Khamooshi, New York Times, 26 July 2025

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