scrape by

English

Etymology

From scrape +‎ by.

Verb

scrape by (third-person singular simple present scrapes by, present participle scraping by, simple past and past participle scraped by)

1. (intransitive) To only afford the essentials; to barely sustain oneself.

   Everyone in her family had to get a second job just so they could scrape by.

Synonyms

• scratch by

See also

• rough it