get away with
1 of 1verb/gɛt əˈweɪ wɪð/
Forms:gets away with,getting away with,got away with,gotten away with
1
to escape punishment for one's wrong actions
B2transitive- Some white-collar criminals try to get away with embezzling money from their companies.
- He was shocked that he could get away with speeding.
- The con artist tried to get away with scamming innocent people, but justice caught up to him.
- She thought she could get away with cheating on the test, but the teacher found out.
- He tried to cheat on the test, but he didn’t get away with it because the teacher caught him.
2
to successfully accomplish a task or goal with minimal effort or resources, often by taking a shortcut or doing something that is not considered the best practice
transitive- I wonder if we could get away with a simpler recipe for the party, considering our limited budget.
- Do you think we could get away with using a smaller font for this presentation to fit everything on one slide?
- The students got away with passing the exam by memorizing only the key points.
- In a competitive market, companies that get away with cost-effective solutions often thrive.
- The handyman managed to get away with fixing the leaky faucet without buying any new parts.