1. To have or face less difficulty than would normally be the case. Whereas some graduate students tell horror stories of the hours upon hours of work they have to do for their programs, I feel like I got off quite lightly with mine! Last summer, we seemed to have endless rain, but we got off lightly this year.

2. To face less severe punishment than might be expected, or to escape punishment entirely. I hope you realize you got off lightly. If your uncle—the senator—hadn't intervened, you'd be in jail right now. In the end, we only had to pay a small fine for the damage, so I'd say we got off pretty lightly!