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
Another third are barely scraping by and could be plunged into crisis by a single financial shock.
—
Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
Ben scrapes by as a none-too-gracious DoorDash delivery driver, among other odd jobs; Jordan may have a vocation as a photographer, but needs to apply himself.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 June 2025
In the event that I get scraped by thickets on a hike or cut my foot on a rogue piece of glass, Vashe will keep it clean of foreign pathogens and bacteria while the healing process takes place.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2025
Social media platforms are heavily scraped by bots and bad actors looking to compile detailed profiles.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrape by
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Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
Ben scrapes by as a none-too-gracious DoorDash delivery driver, among other odd jobs; Jordan may have a vocation as a photographer, but needs to apply himself.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 June 2025
In the event that I get scraped by thickets on a hike or cut my foot on a rogue piece of glass, Vashe will keep it clean of foreign pathogens and bacteria while the healing process takes place.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2025
Social media platforms are heavily scraped by bots and bad actors looking to compile detailed profiles.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrape by
Cite this Entry
“Scrape by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrape%20by. Accessed 2 Aug. 2025.
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