get by

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

get by (third-person singular simple present gets by, present participle getting by, simple past got by, past participle (UK) got by or (US) gotten by)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To subsist; to succeed, survive, or manage, at least at a minimal level.

   Synonyms: get along, make do, make ends meet

   Do you think they can get by on only one salary?

   • 2013, Tim Myers, Melissa Sheppard, “Bad Things”, in Dear You‎, performed by Meiko:

     Good girls do bad things sometimes / But we get by with it / Good girls do bad things sometimes / But we get by with it