GETTING BY Synonyms: 35 Similar and Opposite Words

getting by

verb

present participle of get by

as in coping

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 getting by That free ticket, obtained by getting by hitting two of six numbers on a previous drawing, is now worth $6 million. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026 That is not the performance of a team getting by on heart. — Sylvana Quader Sinha, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026 Mexico passed its opening test with flying colors, getting by South Africa 2-0. — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 18 June 2026 Two lanes of traffic are now getting by after the multi-vehicle crash. — Laura Fay, CBS News, 17 June 2026 Even with two incomes, the family is just getting by. — Andrea Hsu, NPR, 16 June 2026 Federal employees are guaranteed to receive back pay once the shutdown ends, according to a 2019 law, but getting by until then can be hard. — Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026 Millman, his wife and their teenage daughter are barely getting by on his two part-time jobs, one bagging groceries, the other helping homebound seniors. — Noam N. Levey, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026 Their relationship enters a dramatic new phase when the latter — also single, barely getting by with ambitions to become a writer — gets pregnant after sleeping with her married professor and decides to keep the baby. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for getting by

Verb

That might be due to grit, stamina—or a little psychological trick called a coping mantra.

— Angela Haupt, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
Navigating that grief can be difficult and coping with it looks different for everyone.

— Cody Godwin, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of coping

Verb

Totally ignoring the humanity of both worker and customer is rude, and yet both parties are interested in getting on with whatever the transaction is.

— Judith Martin, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
And none of it seems close to being solved despite the 49ers getting on a plane to Australia in less than two weeks for the season opener against the Rams, who many expect to have Aaron Donald back from retirement.

— Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of getting on

Verb

While doing so has helped millions of individuals access the power of electronics, the shrinking size of transistors is presenting problems at mass manufacturing scales.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
Alicia McCalla, 56, a fiction writer who has been doing voice work for five years out of her home in Atlanta, decided to ignore union suggestions and clone her voice.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of doing

Verb

People wear flannel and denim while making out in the storage room of the local watering hole.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2026
The book has the teens making out the first night things went from friends to something more, but the show took it to another level with Bret and Debbie having sex on a lounge chair at a party.

— Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of making out

Verb

Investors are also betting on a future DeepSeek listing in the mainland, said Wayne Shiong, managing partner at Argo Venture Partners, as the startup risks an exodus of senior engineers without financial incentives to stay.

— Anniek Bao,Elaine Yu, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
In addition to managing facilities, his other priorities include enacting policies or resources to ensure students are successful beyond graduation and focusing on student mental health and well-being.

— Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 27 Aug. 2026