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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Though Good Boy gets by for a while on the strength of its performances and the sheer oddness of its plot, the flimsiness of its characters drains the film of energy long before its 110 minutes are up. Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025 Emma Heming Willis gets by with a little help from her family. Ryan Coleman September 2, EW.com, 3 Sep. 2025 Briscoe gets by to take the lead once again, and the Legacy Motor Club duo of Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek run in third and fourth place, respectively. Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 1 Sep. 2025 Dinklage, with his heavy head and weary eyes, plays Winston as someone who has been too busy trying to get by to see the trap that he and everyone around him have been caught in. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for get by

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of get by was in 1841

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Get by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20by. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

get by

verb
1
: to make ends meet : manage
2
: to succeed with the least possible effort or accomplishment

More from Merriam-Webster on get by

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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