scrape by
scrape by · scrapes by · scraped by · scraping by
To only afford the essentialsTo only afford the essentials; to barely sustain oneself.
» Yanni scraped the resin by hand.
Meaning
1 sensesTo only afford the essentials; to barely sustain oneself.
Everyone in her family had to get a second job just so they could scrape by.
More definitions
- manage one's existence barely
Examples
3 sentencesYanni scraped the resin by hand.
I make just enough to scrape by.
ruЯ зарабатываю ровно столько, чтобы свести концы с концами. — marafon
I can barely scrape by on what I'm making now.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
From scrape + by.From scrape + by.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
scrapes by, scraping by, scraped by, scraped by| Base form | scrape by · to scrape by |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | scrapes by |
| Present participle | scraping by |
| Past simple | scraped by |
| Past participle | scraped by |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
6 phrasal verbs- scrape offзішкрібати, зшкрібатиTo remove (something) by a scraping action.
- scrape upTo scrape completely; cover all over with scrapes.
- scrape downTo make the ground flat with tools like a hoe or shovel.
- scrape throughTo marginally manage to progress.
- scrape alongTo barely be able to survive
- scrape byTo only afford the essentials; to barely sustain oneself.
Synonyms
6 synonymsClose in meaning
- manage one's existence barely:scrape alongscratch alongsqueak bysqueeze byrub along
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedrough it
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb