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.

See Examples For:

squeak by

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

They did not squeak by in winning their spots on the November ballot.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 11, 2018

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

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

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