get by

verb

1. to pass; go past or overtake

2. informal,  (intr, adverb) to manage, esp in spite of difficulties

   I can get by with little money

3. (intr) to be accepted or permitted

   that book will never get by the authorities

Idioms and Phrases

Move past, as in There isn't room for this car to get by .

Manage to succeed or get along; also, barely succeed. For example, He's getting by even though he only works half-time , or If he applied himself, Paul could be getting A's, but instead he's just getting by . [Early 1900s]

Be unnoticed; also, get approval or pass inspection. For example, I wonder if these errors will get by the proofreader , or He hoped the paint job would get by . [Early 1900s]

Example Sentences

“I’m taking my chances and hoping I can just get by and that we don’t have any home or dental emergencies,” Frew said.

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As for current trading, he says, he is getting by.

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He wants his children to do better, but for now, he needs their help to get by.

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By Smithsonian magazine’s tally, Americans got by with a mere 20 million photocopies a year in the late 1950s.

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With some Americans struggling with multiple jobs just to get by, extended trading hours would allow them to be able to get in “to play,” he said.

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Related Words

• cope 
• get along 
• get on 
• prosper 
• subsist 
• thrive