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get by

say it: get BY

to manage with difficulty

In Phrasal Verbs

In more detail

1. (verb) to manage adequately or survive, especially with difficulty or limited resources

2. (verb) to pass by or move past someone or something

Examples

• 1. We don't have much money, but we get by on what we earn.
• 2. I couldn't get by the crowd blocking the doorway.

How to use get by

Get by means to manage adequately, often implying limited resources or difficult circumstances, and carries a sense of sufficiency rather than comfort or success. It is more informal than 'manage' and less dramatic than 'struggle.' The second sense (to move past) is less common in modern English and typically appears with a person or in physical contexts.

Common phrases

• get by on
• get by without
• get by with
• just get by
• barely get by

Synonyms

manage · get along · cope · scrape by · make do

Opposites

struggle · fail

Word family

getting by · got by

A common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse the phrasal verb form with get by (meaning to move past), which requires an object; 'get by on a salary' uses the first sense and needs no object between get and by.

Nearby in Phrasal Verbs

find out, follow up, get across, get over, give in, give up

Keep going

How to remember the words you read · Spaced repetition, explained