Definition

Verb (phrasal verb): - To manage to survive or continue with great difficulty, typically with very limited financial resources. It implies barely meeting one's basic needs.

Usage

This phrasal verb is used to describe a situation of financial hardship or general struggle where a person or entity just manages to get by. It often carries a tone of resignation or difficulty.

Examples

• After losing his job, he had to scrape along on his savings for several months.
• Many families are scraping along on a single income in the current economy.
• The small business managed to scrape along during the recession by cutting all unnecessary costs.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can sometimes be used more broadly to describe barely managing in a non-financial context, though this is less common.
  • With his limited English, he could just scrape along in the conversation.

Variants and Related Words

• Scrape by (phrasal verb): A very close synonym, often used interchangeably with "scrape along."
  • They're just scraping by on what they earn.
• Get by (phrasal verb): A more general term for managing to survive or cope, which may imply slightly less difficulty than "scrape along."
• Eke out (phrasal verb): To make a small or limited supply of something last, often through careful management.
  • They eke out a living from the poor soil.

Synonyms

• Struggle along
• Make ends meet
• Survive
• Manage barely

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Scrape through: To barely succeed in passing a test or overcoming a difficult situation.
  • He scraped through the final exam with a grade of 61%.
• Scrape together/up: To gather or collect something, especially money, with difficulty.
  • We need to scrape together enough cash for the rent.

Related Idioms

• Live from hand to mouth: To spend all the money one earns on basic needs, with nothing left for savings or luxuries. This is a very close conceptual synonym for the financial aspect of "scrape along."
  • After the factory closed, many workers were living from hand to mouth.

Verb

1. manage one's existence barely
   • I guess I can squeeze by on this lousy salary