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

The kitchen and bathrooms were fully renovated, the original wide-plank floors throughout were scraped by hand, and windows overlooking the rear garden were expanded, flooding the breakfast room with natural light. —David Foxley, Architectural Digest, 25 Feb. 2026

Any notion that the Broncos were scraping by was met with a mouthful of bristles from Sean Payton. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2026

Putting money toward improving infrastructure and modernization won’t go very far in hospitals that are barely scraping by. —Daniel Torrent, STAT, 25 Feb. 2026

In McDowell County, people face two choices – stay and scrape by or scrape together enough money to leave. —Cecilia Vega, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for scrape by

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify