squeak by

Idioms  

1. 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

See Examples For:

squeak by

The Barn can host around 250 listeners; venues of this size often barely squeak by.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 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

Even against a depleted Los Angeles team that was missing starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp and all-century defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Seattle needed a last-minute touchdown drive to squeak by.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2022

That raised questions about whether one of his opponents could squeak by him.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 25, 2015

Both varsity teams win handily against Hartwell, and the JV boys and girls squeak by.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen