exist
Americanverb (used without object)
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exists,
present (3rd person singular)
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existed,
past participle, past
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existing
present participle
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to have actual being; be.
The world exists, whether you like it or not.
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to have life or animation; live.
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to continue to be or live.
Belief in magic still exists.
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to have being in a specified place or under certain conditions; be found; occur.
Hunger exists in many parts of the world.
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to achieve the basic needs of existence, as food and shelter.
He's not living, he's merely existing.
verb
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to have being or reality; to be
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to eke out a living; stay alive; survive
I can barely exist on this wage
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to be living; live
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to be present under specified conditions or in a specified place
sharks exist in the Pacific
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philosophy
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to be actual rather than merely possible
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to be a member of the domain of some theory, an element of some possible world, etc
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to have contingent being while free, responsible, and aware of one's situation
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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existsimple
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existssimple
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have existedperfect
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has existedperfect
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am existingprogressive
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are existingprogressive
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is existingprogressive
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have been existingperfect progressive
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has been existingperfect progressive
Past
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existedsimple
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had existedperfect
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was existingprogressive
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were existingprogressive
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had been existingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exist
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin ex(s)istere “to exist, appear, emerge,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + sistere “to stand”
Explanation
The verb exist means to live, to have reality. Dodos no longer exist because they were hunted to extinction. It's not only "live" things that exist. The government exists, as does your fear of heights. Anything that can be acknowledged in the present, exists. Another meaning for the verb exist is to support oneself or survive. If someone doesn't have a job, they may have to exist on unemployment benefits until they find one.
Vocabulary lists containing exist
Because of Winn-Dixie
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"Inventing to Solve a Problem"
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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.
See Examples For:
Being a junior associate allowed him to understand where the industry’s data lives, what practitioners actually care about and where inefficiencies exist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
So-called public benefit corporations do actually exist, and with a triple bottom line: a dedication to people, planet and profit, essentially in that order.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist," Kyrgios wrote after Sinner accepted a three-month ban for testing positive for clostebol.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Some fears of illicit data transfers also exist in Europe, said Sarkar, the visitor from Portugal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
It is a painful way to exist in the world, but Joey rarely complains.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
But the damage was done, and the firm no longer exists.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Nine-year-old Sebastian paints a portrait of his family home, unable to comprehend that it no longer exists after the powerful quake that shattered western Colombia this week.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
After all, an emergency fund exists to prevent you from having to make a harsh decision at an inconvenient time.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Further upside exists, but execution must catch up after a strong re-rating,” Macquarie says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
However, the best fortress that exists is not to be hated by the people.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
The mechanism has existed since at least the 19th century, but it has only been used a few times, usually in response to severe environmental destruction.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Antidiscrimination laws mean that affirmative action, which existed for decades in the U.S., is illegal in the U.K.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The engine, which has existed for more than two decades, got an upgrade in 2021 to its current iteration, Unreal Engine 5.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The researchers therefore investigated what could have supplied energy before ATP-based metabolism existed.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
It referred to a set of ideals and hopes, like human perfection or social equality, that philosophers mistakenly believed could be implemented in the world because it existed in their heads.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
But existing energy cost pressures may push up the likes of food, and other prices, at a faster pace in coming months as they take many months to pass through supply chains.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
If you choose to use your existing funds in a standard PayPal or Venmo account, it’s important to understand that the balance is not insured like it would be in a traditional bank.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Herrman said that the company can grow its overall global store base to a total of 7,500 stores across its existing retail banners over the long term.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Producing the right sticky ends, however, requires highly precise cutting at specific locations, something existing technologies do not always handle well.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
In the mornings, while Siobhan was at school, he sat in on conference calls with his board members and employees, existing clients and new customers.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
