Meanings
present singular third person gets by · participle present getting by · past got by · UK participle past got by · US participle past gotten by
- idiomaticintransitiveTo subsist; to succeed, survive, or manage, at least at a minimal level.
Do you think they can get by on only one salary?
1 more example
Good girls do bad things sometimes / But we get by with it / Good girls do bad things sometimes / But we get by with it
2013, Tim Myers, Melissa Sheppard, “Bad Things”, in Dear You, performed by MeikoSynonyms: get along, make do, make ends meet
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo subsist; to succeed, survive, or manage, at least at a minimal level.
More synonyms by meaning
verbsucceed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available
verbescape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan campar
- camparsubsist
Chinese Mandarin 湊合 /凑合
- 湊合 /凑合 (còuhe)subsist
Czech vyjít, vystačit
- vyjítsubsist
- vystačitsubsist
- vyžítsubsist
Dutch rondkomen
- rondkomensubsist
Finnish selviytyä, tulla toimeen
- selviytyäsubsist
- tulla toimeensubsist
- pysyä leivän syrjässä kiinnisubsist
French tenir le coup, s'en sortir
- tenir le coupsubsist
- s'en sortirsubsist
- se débrouillersubsist
German auskommen, durchkommen
- auskommensubsist
- durchkommensubsist
- zurechtkommensubsist
- klarkommensubsist
Hungarian megél
- megélsubsist
Italian sbarcare il lunario, tirare avanti
- sbarcare il lunariosubsist
- tirare avantisubsist
Japanese 遣り繰りする, 遣り繰り算段する
- 遣り繰りする (yarikuri suru)subsist
- 遣り繰り算段する (yarikuri-sandan suru)subsist
Polish radzić sobie, poradzić sobie
- radzić sobiesubsist
- poradzić sobiesubsist
Portuguese sobreviver
- sobreviversubsist
Russian справля́ться, спра́виться
- справля́ться (spravljátʹsja)subsist
- спра́виться (správitʹsja)subsist
Spanish arreglárselas, ingeniárselas
- arreglárselassubsist
- ingeniárselassubsist
- componérselassubsist
- apañárselassubsist
- apañarsesubsist
- rebuscárselasubsist
- conformarsesubsist
- bandearsesubsist
- ir tirandosubsist
- defendersesubsist
- sobrenadarsubsist
- guarirsubsist
Swedish klara sig
- klara sigsubsist
Turkish geçinmek, yaşamak
- geçinmeksubsist
- yaşamaksubsist
Vietnamese xoay xở sống
- xoay xở sốngsubsist
Cite this entry
get by. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20by
“get by.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20by. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “get by,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20by.
Source: get by on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.