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
Some people have relied on predatory loans to get by.
—
Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Mar. 2026
She’s been there since January, mostly getting by on her own.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For the past two years, Darlyn was working as a deliverista to get by.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Tiny Goliath Trounces an Even Tinier David<\/h2>PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for get by
Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Mar. 2026
She’s been there since January, mostly getting by on her own.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 25 Mar. 2026
For the past two years, Darlyn was working as a deliverista to get by.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Tiny Goliath Trounces an Even Tinier David<\/h2>While the iPad will continue to help the average user get by with paying the bills or writing their next breakout sci-fi novel, while maybe even tweaking some family photos, the MacBook Neo’s superior processor does it all better.
—PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for get by
Recent Examples of Synonyms for get by
Verb
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As Owens' family awaited the trial, her four children -- Izzy, Isaac, Afrika and Titus -- had to cope with a life without their mother.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Humor plays a vital role in helping older adults, especially, cope with aging and bereavement, according to new research.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The fact that the President is now signalling a messy retreat has nothing to do with insufficient lethality and everything to do with politics—in particular, the alarm in the global oil markets and the American public’s widespread opposition to the war.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
If a friend volunteers input, accept their assistance with gratitude rather than doing everything alone for the best results.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Cordova then got on top of the victim and punched him several times in the face and head.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Who wouldn’t want to get on board?—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The whole settlement will collapse if townspeople can’t get along.—
Stephanie Burt,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Surely seventh graders are capable of understanding that people need to get along with one another, rather than living in a constant state of alarm, suspecting that others mean us harm.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And across these two games, England managed just one goal, when Ben White tapped in on Friday.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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Officials state the move will place leadership closer to the Western lands the agency manages and improve its mission.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Get by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/get%20by. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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