Skip to definition.
Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps


Verb: get by
  1. Succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available
    "We got by on just a gallon of gas";
    - cope, make do, contend, grapple, deal, manage
     
  2. Pass or move in front of
    "Bride's Biscuit got by the other dogs to win the race"
     
  3. Escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action
    - get off [informal], get away, get out, escape

Derived forms: getting by, got by, gets by

Type of: act, avoid, move, overhaul, overtake, pass