squeak by

Idioms

Also, squeak through. Manage barely to pass, win, survive, or the like, as in They are just squeaking by on their income, or He squeaked through the driver's test. This idiom transfers squeak in the sense of “barely emit a sound” to “narrowly manage something.” [First half of 1900s] Also see squeeze through.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Maye just managed to squeak by the understaffed Broncos and their backup QB.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

They embraced risk and played to win big rather than striving not to offend and hoping to squeak by.

From Salon • Oct. 21, 2024

“I’ve always been able to squeak by until now,” he said by phone from his home in West Kelowna, British Columbia.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2023

“I think that many sectors of California agriculture are going to be able to squeak by this year,” Scheuring said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2021

I worked up a budget and calculated that we could indeed squeak by if I made extra money babysitting.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023