scrape through

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

scrape through verb (adverb)

1. (intransitive) to manage or survive with difficulty
2. to succeed in with difficulty or by a narrow margin

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

scrape /skreɪp/   v., scraped, scrap•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to rub (a surface) with something rough, so as to clean or smooth it:
   [~ + object] to scrape a table to remove varnish.
2. to remove (paint, etc.) by rubbing with something rough or sharp:
   [~ + object] to scrape the paint from the table.
3. to scratch or injure by brushing against something rough or sharp:
   [~ + object] I scraped my knee when I fell.
4. to rub roughly on (something), esp. so as to produce a harsh sound: [~ + object]
   scraped the floor with his chair.
   [no object]
   The chair scraped on the floor.
5. to collect with difficulty: [~ + up/together + object]
   Can you scrape up enough money for college?
   [~ + object + up/together]
   She scraped enough money together for college.
6. scrape by or through, to manage with difficulty: [no object]
   The struggling family could barely scrape by.
   [~ + by/through + object]
   I barely scraped through the course with a D.

n. [countable]

7. an act or instance of scraping.
8. a harsh sound made by scraping:
   the scrape of chairs.
9. a scraped place:
   a bad scrape on the arm.
10. an embarrassing or difficult situation.
11. a fight or quarrel;
    scrap.

scrap•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

scrape  (skrāp), v., scraped, scrap•ing, n. 
v.t. 

1. to deprive of or free from an outer layer, adhering matter, etc., or to smooth by drawing or rubbing something, esp. a sharp or rough instrument, over the surface:
   to scrape a table to remove paint and varnish.
2. to remove (an outer layer, adhering matter, etc.) in this way:
   to scrape the paint and varnish from a table.
3. to scratch, injure, or mar the surface of in this way:
   to scrape one's arm on a rough wall.
4. to produce by scraping:
   He scraped his initials on the rock.
5. to collect or do by or as if by scraping;
   do or gather laboriously or with difficulty (usually fol. by up or together):
   They managed to scrape together a football team.
6. to rub harshly on or across (something):
   Don't scrape the floor with your boots!
7. to draw or rub (a thing) roughly across something:
   Scrape your shoes on the doormat before you come in.
8. Civil Engineering to level (an unpaved road) with a grader.

v.i. 

9. to scrape something.
10. to rub against something gratingly.
11. to produce a grating and unmusical tone from a string instrument.
12. to draw one's foot back noisily along the ground in making a bow.
13. to manage or get by with difficulty or with only the barest margin:
    I barely scraped through on the test.
14. to economize or save by attention to even the slightest amounts:
    By careful scraping they managed to survive.

n. 

15. an act or instance of scraping.
16. a drawing back of the foot noisily along the ground in making a bow.
17. a harsh, shrill, or scratching sound made by scraping.
18. a scraped place:
    a scrape on one's elbow.
19. an embarrassing or distressing situation;
    predicament:
    He is always in some kind of a scrape.
20. a difference of opinion, fight, or quarrel;
    scrap.

• Old Norse skrapa; replacing Middle English shrapen, Old English scrapian to scratch (cognate with Old Norse skrapa); (noun, nominal) late Middle English: scraper, derivative of the verb, verbal
• (verb, verbal) Middle English scrapen bef. 1000

scrap′a•ble, adj. 
scrape′age, n. 
Synonyms

• 14. scrimp, stint, pinch.