GET BY Synonyms: 35 Similar and Opposite Words

get by

verb

Definition of get by

as in to cope

to meet one's day-to-day needs working at night paid my college tuition and enabled me to get by—but just barely

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of get by These cities and towns promised better jobs, cheaper homes, less traffic and higher quality of life, outweighing Florida's allure of tropical weather and ease of getting by on Spanish alone. — CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, Florida teachers and adjunct professors are working full courseloads, grading papers, and often taking second and third jobs just to get by. — José Javier Rodríguez, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026 But the retired mortician, who gets by on Social Security benefits with her husband, doesn't buy it anymore. — Israel Schuman, Des Moines Register, 9 Sep. 2026 Maintaining healthy flows will take a lot of investment, Holm said, including for new technologies to help farmers get by with less water. — Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for get by

Recent Examples of Synonyms for get by

Verb

With phones, keys, multi-tools, flashlights, water bottles and charging cables, the modern trouser and jacket pocket has a tough job coping.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2026
Even hospitals in Aden, where Yemen’s government is based, struggle to cope.

— Fatma Khaled, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of cope

Verb

When the vast majority of minor leaguers never reach the majors, the arithmetic clears only when the terms on the few who do are punitive enough to fund the rest.

— Chris Koras, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026
The company has already done this three times with Super Heavy but has not yet attempted it with Ship.

— Mike Wall, Space.com, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of do

Verb

None of the old considerations—age, body type, drug problems—matter as much as that one thing, how often the players get on base.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2026
But Aesha, who has four nieces, is an experienced babysitter, and gets on with Kayden just fine.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of get on

Verb

Also, everyone seems to get along quite well, thanks in part to a weekly poker game that doubles as a bonding experience.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Vampires don’t get along with witches and warlocks — and the fight between them is set to escalate even further across the season.

— Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of get along

Verb

Alvarez managed to nab a foul pop-up behind the plate for the first out, but a fly ball to center field scored another run, and Abrams managed to get to third.

— Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 26 Sep. 2026
Tehran has spent long weeks in discussions with Oman, on the other side of the strait, on how to manage shipping traffic.

— Cara Anna, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026