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get by

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verb
to pass; go past or overtake
(intr, adverb) informal to manage, esp in spite of difficultiesI can get by with little money
(intr) to be accepted or permittedthat book will never get by the authorities
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use get by in a sentence

Other Idioms and Phrases with get by

get by

1

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

2

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]

3

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]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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