to squeak by

4 7.2

Manage to succeed or continue with only a small amount

phrasal verb
/skwiːk baɪ/

Informal

: salir adelante

You guys barely squeaked by at Nationals.
barely squeaked by
just squeaked by

And I took on the full back and Jacobs was still able to squeak by and, like, reach over for the first down.

Examples

That's why Al Gore was never president, even though he squeaked by in the popular vote too.

Blog text (9)
Despite the challenging circumstances, we managed to squeak by with just enough savings.
-l think we'll be able to squeak by on that.

Going in Style (1979)
Understand you just squeaked by.

Blog text (5)
We're managing to squeak by without you.

Fiction book (1990)
They will require investment, thought, negotiation, and endless hard work just to squeak by.

Blog text (25)
Well, Ford had enough cash reserves to squeak by, but General Motors and Chrysler didn't.
You'll probably squeak by.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
When I'm passionate about something, though, I find it impossible to be blasé, to do the minimum and squeak by, knowing it could be better.

Blog text (8)
After losing my job, I was relieved to squeak by with freelance work until I found a new position.

Synonyms

to survive

vsto squeak by

425 2.7

Manage to live on very little money

emphasizes barely succeeding or narrowly making it rather than just living

to get by

vsto squeak by

121 3.1

Manage to live with little money or help

lacks the strong barely succeeding tone and is more general

to scrape by

vsto squeak by

10 5.1

To manage to live with very little money

covers narrow success as well as living on scarce means

to scrape through

vsto squeak by

2 5.8

To barely succeed in a test or task

describes barely managing in general rather than only passing a minimum

to squeak through

vsto squeak by

Informal

1 5.8

Just barely manage to succeed or avoid failure

means to barely manage in general not only narrow success

to rub along

vsto squeak by

1 7.5

To manage to live with little money

is more about steady coping than about narrow success

to squeeze by

vsto squeak by

Informal

1 5.8

Live with only enough money for basic needs

applies to barely succeeding in many situations not only money problems

to scratch by

vsto squeak by

6.9

To manage to live with very little money

refers more to barely succeeding than only surviving on little

to scrape along

vsto squeak by

6.9

Live with difficulty because you have little money

often stresses long term coping rather than quick narrow success

to scratch along

vsto squeak by

7.8

Manage to live with very little money

is less about narrow success and more about ongoing hardship

Antonyms

to fail

898 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

miss

73 3.1

A failure to hit or reach a target

How Successful

to excel

58 3.7

pass

11 1.4

to squeak by

Informal

4 7.2

to fail

898 1.0

Surface Forms

squeak by infinitive

squeaked by past

squeaked by past participle

squeaking by present participle

squeaks by third person singular

Morphology

squeak + by

Given the listed constituent meanings, 'squeak' (a narrow victory/escape) combined with the common preposition 'by' (indicating margin or measure) yields the meaning 'to succeed by a very small margin' directly. This composition follows a transparent pattern (do X by a small amount) that a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably infer.

Etymology

Squeak by may come from the tiny sound a small animal makes when it squeezes through a very narrow hole — the little squeak as it gets by the gap. That's why the phrase now means 'to barely succeed' or 'to just manage'.