Synonyms

subsist

American

[suhb-sist] / səbˈsɪst /

verb (used without object)

to exist; continue in existence.
to remain alive; live, as on food, resources, etc.
to have existence in, or by reason of, something.
to reside, lie, or consist (usually followed byin ).
Philosophy.
1. to have timeless or abstract existence, as a number, relation, etc.
2. to have existence, especially independent existence.

verb (used with object)

to provide sustenance or support for; maintain.

subsist British

/ səbˈsɪst /

verb

(often foll by on) to be sustained; manage to live

to subsist on milk
to continue in existence
(foll by in) to lie or reside by virtue (of); consist
philosophy
1. to exist as a concept or relation rather than a fact
2. to be conceivable
obsolete (tr) to provide with support

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

presubsist verb (used without object)
self-subsisting adjective
subsistent adjective
subsister noun
subsistingly adverb
supersubsist verb (used without object)

Etymology

Origin of subsist

1540–50; < Latin subsistere to remain, equivalent to sub- sub- + sistere to stand, make stand; stand

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Per capita disposable income in cities is less than $700 a month, while in the countryside as many as several hundred million people subsist on just a few dollars each day.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Those who subsist on the fringes of the Vegas tourism orbit are aware that they are in a funk but are nonetheless powerless to fix it.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

When you subsist on crumbs for long enough, you learn to make a meal out of them.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2025

Many of them eat only one meal a day and subsist on high energy biscuits given by the charity, she said.

From BBC • May 23, 2025

Heraclitus saith that “War is the father of all things,” for we could not subsist without strife within us and unease.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023