Showing results for "existing"

• present participle of exist.

existing

American  

[ig-zis-ting] / ɪgˈzɪs tɪŋ /

adjective

1. already or previously in place, before being replaced, altered, or added to.

   Fundraising costs money, and recruiting new donors is more expensive than asking existing supporters to give a little more.

2. having actual being or life.

   The great ornithologist Alexander Wetmore, who died in 1978, allegedly declared that all existing species of birds had already been discovered.

3. occurring in a specified place or under specified conditions.

   Members of committees dealing with the behavior of intelligence services met to discuss the existing challenges and exchange best practices.

4. achieving only the basic needs of existence, as food and shelter.

   Forrest Bess was a marginally existing bait fisherman and artist who lived in a ramshackle cabin on the Gulf of Mexico.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonexisting
  adjective
• unexisting
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of existing

exist ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

If something is existing, it's real. When you make a list of existing mammals, you can't include unicorns, because they don't really exist. Something that's real can be said to exist, or to be existing. The existing laws in your state are the ones that are actually on the books, and your existing friends are the ones you really have, and who are all alive and well. The verb exist, at the root of the adjective existing, comes from the Latin existere, "come into being," from a combination of ex, "out," and sistere, "take a stand."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

existing

West Virginia adopted the nation’s first program to make those funds universally available in 2021 and today, 18 states are inviting any student to partake, regardless of family income or existing private school enrollment.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

While removing sheetrock during demolition, workers found remnants of a balcony at the triangular point on the 20th floor, identical to an existing balcony one floor above.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Some executives dismissed her concerns, saying the model’s existing safeguards were enough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

The broadband market has gotten more crowded and more competitive, with the major wireless companies stepping up their investments in home-internet plans through both fiber offerings and fixed-wireless-access offerings that leverage their existing cellular networks.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

It was one thing to use the existing magnetic forces of fate.

From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant