Muddle through Meaning in English

expression

US

UK

Definition

To manage to get by or complete something despite confusion, lack of resources, or not having a clear plan; to cope without doing things perfectly.

Usage & Nuances

Informal; often used to describe doing one's best in a tough or uncertain situation, not about achieving great results. Common variations: 'just muddle through', 'try to muddle through'. Not the same as 'power through' (which is more determined).

• Spanish: salir adelante como se puede - arreglárselas
• Portuguese (BR): se virar - dar um jeito - se virar como pode
• Portuguese (PT): safarmo-nos - desenrascar-se - lidar como se pode
• Chinese (Simplified): 勉强应付 - 将就着过
• Chinese (Traditional): 勉強應付 - 撐過去
• Hindi: जैसे-तैसे काम चलाना - किसी तरह पूरा करना
• Arabic: يدبر الأمور بصعوبة - ينجو بالكاد
• Bengali: কষ্টে-সৃষ্টে চালানো - গড়িয়ে নেওয়া
• Russian: кое-как справляться - кое-как выкарабкаться
• Japanese: なんとかやりくりする - 何とか切り抜ける
• Vietnamese: chật vật vượt qua - xoay xở qua
• Korean: 대충 버티다 - 힘겹게 넘기다
• Turkish: idare etmek - güç bela üstesinden gelmek
• Urdu: کسی طرح نبٹ لینا - مشکل میں گزارا کرنا
• Indonesian: berjalan seadanya - bertahan semampunya

Example Sentences

Sometimes you just have to muddle through when things get hard.

basic

We don't have a plan, but we'll muddle through somehow.

basic

I managed to muddle through the test without studying.

basic

We didn't know what we were doing, but we just muddled through in the end.

natural

Life can be messy, but most of us muddle through somehow.

natural

Everyone was confused, but we muddled through the meeting somehow.

natural