scrape by
phrasal verb
scraped by; scraping by; scrapes by
1
: to live with barely enough money : to be able to buy only the things most needed
Money was tight, but we somehow managed to scrape by.
2
: to succeed at doing something but just barely
He didn't study for the exam and just barely scraped by.
Examples of scrape by in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hackman moved to New York City and scraped by while searching for stage roles.
—
Tom Gliatto, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025
Childcare was already unaffordable, and providers were already barely scraping by, even before the latest fires.
—Christine Ro, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
Instead, our schools are scraping by with the bare minimum.
—Chicago Tribune, 20 Mar. 2025
While raising her son as a single mom in Kansas and scraping by on Depression-era tips as a waitress, Burke met Billy Wolfe, played by Josh Lucas.
—A Martínez, NPR, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrape by
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Tom Gliatto, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025
Childcare was already unaffordable, and providers were already barely scraping by, even before the latest fires.
—Christine Ro, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
Instead, our schools are scraping by with the bare minimum.
—Chicago Tribune, 20 Mar. 2025
While raising her son as a single mom in Kansas and scraping by on Depression-era tips as a waitress, Burke met Billy Wolfe, played by Josh Lucas.
—A Martínez, NPR, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrape by
Cite this Entry
“Scrape by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrape%20by. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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