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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
The coming-of-age story follows 15-year-old Spider (Grace) and her younger sister who are trying to get by after their mother suffers a fatal overdose.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
With such a paltry salary, advocates for the idea say, lawmakers are typically wealthy, retired or need to seek out help from patrons of one sort or another to get by.
—Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 12 Jan. 2026
The Fund’s Self Sufficiency Standard calculates how much a household would need to earn to get by in Miami-Dade without financial assistance.
—Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
The Stars get by with star power and strong goaltending, but the team’s weak depth is starting to catch up with them.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for get by
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
With such a paltry salary, advocates for the idea say, lawmakers are typically wealthy, retired or need to seek out help from patrons of one sort or another to get by.
—Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 12 Jan. 2026
The Fund’s Self Sufficiency Standard calculates how much a household would need to earn to get by in Miami-Dade without financial assistance.
—Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
The Stars get by with star power and strong goaltending, but the team’s weak depth is starting to catch up with them.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for get by
Recent Examples of Synonyms for get by
Verb
-
But at the same time, this is a group of players who coped admirably with the pressure of the title race two seasons ago, winning 16, drawing one and losing one of their final 18 Premier League matches, scoring 54 goals in the process.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
In the latest season, still coping with the emotional fallout of his wife’s passing, Jimmy is now about to become an empty nester as his daughter readies her path to college.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Coming from both the Sun and also omnidirectionally from elsewhere across the Universe, these cosmic rays all behaved the same way normal particles do on Earth, except were at significantly greater energies.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Some of Thursday’s decline was related to Wall Street not being happy with how much the company was spending on investments for the future (capital expenditures), and the cloud business Azure may not have done as well as some hoped.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The governor, Tim Walz, defeated for the Vice Presidency, gets on TV, his voice quavering, saying the right things, speaking the truth, and advising courage.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The defendant then got on his phone and started searching for auto body repair shops, started calling and texting with technicians, and proceeded to take his car to a repair shop, Campbell said.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
No history of the United States would tell a story in which the federal government and the states have always got along.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Sure, there is a lot of interest in the feuds—are Charles and Harry getting along these days?—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The side managed by former Kazakhstan international Rafael Urazbakhtin have now lost four games in a row in the Champions League.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Bad things always linger, but usually at the margins, where they're somewhat easily managed.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Get by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/get%20by. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
