muddle through

verb

muddled through; muddling through; muddles through

intransitive verb

: to achieve a degree of success without much planning or effort

Examples of muddle through in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

More utility-scale renewables are online, and people and businesses across Ukrainian society have learned from successive bleak winters how to muddle through with batteries, generators, blankets, and candles. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026

In Pulling, Horgan’s Donna is one of a group of friends all muddling through their 30s together, and Catastrophe is as much Delaney’s show as Horgan’s. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

Palace’s ambition in the window was to walk back from January’s mistakes, and not try to muddle through a congested season with a small squad for a second year in succession. — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Many of us hear talk of plague and think that humanity, as ever, will manage to muddle through. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1864, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for muddle through

• amadou
• avenue
• ballyhoo
• baraboo
• barbecue
• barbeque
• bugaboo
• cabildo
• caribou
• cockatoo
• detinue
• devalue