survivor

[ser-vahy-ver]

noun

1. a person or thing that survives.

2. Law.,  the one of two or more designated persons, as joint tenants or others having a joint interest, who outlives the other or others.

3. a person who continues to function or prosper in spite of opposition, hardship, or setbacks.

Other Word Forms

• nonsurvivor noun
• self-survivor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of survivor¹

First recorded in 1495–1505; survive + -or ²

Example Sentences

The possum-tracking dog will later do a sweep, and if needed, the team will deploy extra traps to take out survivors that didn’t go for the bait.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The Germans forced survivors into concentration camps, seizing their lands for the state and selling vast tracts to white settlers at heavily subsidized rates, according to historians and researchers.

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But when rescuers used thermal drones and other equipment to check for possible survivors overnight and in the early hours of Thursday, they picked up no signs of life.

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“We must ensure that nothing like this ever happens again and that every penny that we are allocating to victims goes directly to the survivors.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Everytown gathered a focus group of 43 survivors of this type of violence last year, and participants reported that children were witnesses in 43 percent of domestic-violence homicide suicides.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• residue