get by

verb

1. come to terms with (Freq. 3)

-

We got by on just a gallon of gas

-

They made do on half a loaf of bread every day

• Syn:

↑cope, ↑make out, ↑make do, ↑contend, ↑grapple, ↑deal, ↑manage

• Hypernyms: ↑act, ↑move

• Hyponyms:

↑improvise, ↑extemporize, ↑fend, ↑hack, ↑cut, ↑scrape along, ↑scrape by, ↑scratch along, ↑squeak by, ↑squeeze by, ↑rub along, ↑meet, ↑match, ↑cope with

• Verb Frames:

-

Somebody ——s PP

-

Somebody ——s

(for: ↑manage)

-

Somebody ——s

(for: ↑make do)

-

Somebody ——s

(for: ↑make out)

-

Somebody ——s

-

Somebody ——s

(for: ↑cope)

2. pass or move in front of (Freq. 1)

-

Bride's Biscuit got by the other dogs to win the race

• Hypernyms: ↑pass, ↑overtake, ↑overhaul

• Verb Frames:

-

Somebody ——s something

-

Somebody ——s somebody

-

Something ——s somebody

-

Something ——s something

3. escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action (Freq. 1)

-

She gets away with murder!

-

I couldn't get out from under these responsibilities

• Syn: ↑get off, ↑get away, ↑get out, ↑escape

• Derivationally related forms: ↑escape (for: ↑escape)

• Hypernyms: ↑avoid

• Hyponyms: ↑evade

• Verb Frames:

-

Somebody ——s

-

Somebody ——s PP

* * *

[verb]

manage, cope, exist, fare, get along, keep one's head above water, make both ends meet, survive

* * *

MANAGE, cope, survive, exist, subsist, muddle through/along, scrape by, make ends meet, make do, keep the wolf from the door; informal make out.

→ get

* * *

intransitive verb

1. : to make ends meet : manage, survive

got by for a time by hunting furs — M.C.Boatright

a marvel to me how all these … little two-by-four stores get by — John McNulty

2. : to succeed with the least possible effort or accomplishment

knew that with a little brushing up I could probably get by on an examination — Norman Cousins

3.

a. : to succeed without being discovered, criticized, or punished : pass unnoticed or unchallenged

a group of drivers is getting by with known violations — D.S.Buck

hold their jobs and get by socially … because they are easy to get along with — W.J.Reilly

b. : to pass for a white person

all four grandparents were colored, but all could get by — W.L.White

* * *

get by

1. To succeed in passing

2. To elude notice and come off with impunity, manage satisfactorily, be sufficiently good (informal)

• • •

Main Entry: ↑get

* * *

ˌget ˈby [intransitive] [present tense I/you/we/they get by he/she/it gets by present participle getting by past tense got by past participle got by] phrasal verb

to have just enough of something such as money or knowledge so that you can do what you need to do

My arithmetic isn’t very good, but I get by.

get by on:

I couldn’t possibly get by on £500 a month.

get by with:

You could probably get by with that computer, but a more powerful one would be better.

Thesaurus: to know something or someone_synonym to have just enough money_synonym

Main entry: get

* * *

manage with difficulty to live or accomplish something

he had just enough money to get by

* * *

get by [phrasal verb]

1 : to do enough or to do well enough to avoid failure

He's doing very well in his history classes, but he's barely getting by in math.

2 : to be able to live or to do what is needed by using what you have even though you do not have much

We don't have a lot of money, but we get by.

— often + on

How can you get by on such a small salary?

— often + with

We got by with a minimum of clothing when we went camping.

• • •

Main Entry: ↑get