get by
verb
got by; got by or gotten by; getting by; gets by
1
: to succeed with the least possible effort or accomplishment
2
: to make ends meet : survive
3
: to proceed without being discovered, criticized, or punished
Examples of get by in a Sentence
working at night paid my college tuition and enabled me to get by—but just barely
Recent Examples on the Web
While dwarf varieties of foxglove (Digitalis spp.) will often get by without staking, taller types tend to become top-heavy.
—
Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2025
The company sold enough to get by, but the Curly Kit marked its first major success.
—Kelli María Korducki, thehustle.co, 11 July 2025
The older generation of chips could get by on traditional air cooling, but everything from Nvidia’s Blackwell chips and up will require liquid cooling to avoid overheating.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 10 July 2025
No politician wants to be responsible for cutting the program many Americans rely on to get by financially in old age.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for get by
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Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2025
The company sold enough to get by, but the Curly Kit marked its first major success.
—Kelli María Korducki, thehustle.co, 11 July 2025
The older generation of chips could get by on traditional air cooling, but everything from Nvidia’s Blackwell chips and up will require liquid cooling to avoid overheating.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 10 July 2025
No politician wants to be responsible for cutting the program many Americans rely on to get by financially in old age.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for get by
Cite this Entry
“Get by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20by. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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