as in to cope
to meet one's day-to-day needs
working at night paid my college tuition and enabled me to get by—but just barely
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Recent Examples of get by
Though Good Boy gets by for a while on the strength of its performances and the sheer oddness of its plot, the flimsiness of its characters drains the film of energy long before its 110 minutes are up.
—
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Emma Heming Willis gets by with a little help from her family.
—Ryan Coleman September 2, EW.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Briscoe gets by to take the lead once again, and the Legacy Motor Club duo of Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek run in third and fourth place, respectively.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 1 Sep. 2025
In one instance, a White man allegedly hurled racial slurs before shooting three Black men — later identified as survivors simply trying to get by.
—Avalon Hester, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for get by
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Emma Heming Willis gets by with a little help from her family.
—Ryan Coleman September 2, EW.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Briscoe gets by to take the lead once again, and the Legacy Motor Club duo of Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek run in third and fourth place, respectively.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 1 Sep. 2025
In one instance, a White man allegedly hurled racial slurs before shooting three Black men — later identified as survivors simply trying to get by.
—Avalon Hester, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for get by
Recent Examples of Synonyms for get by
Verb
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Encourage healthy coping strategies.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Sidelined since July 15, the WNBA star is dealing with being out for an extended period of time — and coping with being on the bench has been a seemingly unwelcome transition.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ford dropped it from the Explorer’s retail lineup, but continues to offer it in police vehicles, which benefit from its ability to power AC and other accessories without running the engine when parked, as patrol vehicles often spend lots of time doing.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Never follow your boyfriend to college, especially a seemingly mediocre college, as Belly does with Jeremiah to the fictional Finch.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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After Al-Hayya left, Qatari negotiators got on the phone with their Israeli counterparts to update them on the nascent ceasefire effort.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
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Click here to get on the newsletter list!—
Ayisha Miracle Mendez,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These responses reflect whether people in the workplace get along — not the actual culture itself.—
Tracy Lawrence,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The animal not getting along with other pets or humans in the house.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What began as a handful of campus groups now stretches across more than 3,500 high schools and universities, supported by dozens of full-time staff who manage student activists like a professional sales force.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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At the same time, the industry is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to manage tariff risks, optimize logistics costs, and ensure pricing compliance across complex regulatory environments.—
Nish Acharya,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Get by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/get%20by. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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