scrape by

phrasal verb

scraped by; scraping by; scrapes by

1

: to live with barely enough money : to be able to buy only the things most needed

Money was tight, but we somehow managed to scrape by.

2

: to succeed at doing something but just barely

He didn't study for the exam and just barely scraped by.

Examples of scrape by in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The family scraped by during the Depression by renting out to boarders. —Nino Paoli, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2025

But despite touching on the disparities of class, income and opportunity in America and the fragility — even futility — of hope for many people barely scraping by, the script’s universal truths land with a soft impact. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025

Cars that had been dented and scraped by debris were towed. —Keisha Rowe, The Courier-Journal, 3 Apr. 2025

The creator economy, valued at over $250 billion and projected to hit $480 billion by 2027, is booming, but most creators are barely scraping by. —Tomer Warschauer Nuni, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for scrape by

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify