Meanings
verbscratch by (third-person singular simple present scratches by, present participle scratching by, simple past and past participle scratched by)
present singular third person scratches by · participle present scratching by · participle past scratched by · past scratched by
- idiomaticTo get by; to make ends meet.
It all works great for Walmart or the food-service company, but for people like Gina and her friend Nicole, it means they can barely scratch by.
2017, Elizabeth Warren, This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle ClassSynonyms: scrape by
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo get by; to make ends meet.
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Origin
Cite this entry
APA
scratch by. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scratch%20by
MLA
“scratch by.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scratch%20by. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scratch by,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scratch%20by.
Source: scratch by on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.