exist
Americanverb (used without object)
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exists,
present (3rd person singular)
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existed,
past participle, past
-
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
-
existedsimple
-
had existedperfect
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was existingprogressive
-
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:
Reform's Cristiana Emsley said it would be unacceptable to continue when "serious concerns exist".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Our gambling laws exist to protect New Yorkers, prevent the potential harms of problem gambling, and ensure funding for educational and public benefit programs,” James said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
But in particle physics, failing to detect something can still provide important information by ruling out where it could exist.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Most of those worrisome capabilities do not exist today in anything approaching their most frightening forms.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Ridge didn’t say so, but it was obvious that malls did not exist in his future.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Part of the mystery around the uncanniest AI foodslop is why it exists at all, given the availability of tools capable of producing realistic-looking pictures of many common foods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Instead, crypto exists on the blockchain, a kind of shared spreadsheet that anonymously records every transaction, and is “mined” digitally through the solving of complex math problems.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Allegedly, somewhere out there De Palma’s original three-hour cut exists, one that so impressed Ellroy that he devoted an entire essay to singing its praises called “The Hillikers.”
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
"As we take the monopole forward, we want to harness the skills, expertise and manufacturing capability that exists here in Wales," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
I say, therefore, that in completely new principalities, where there is a new prince, greater or lesser difficulty in maintaining them exists according to the greater or lesser virtue of the person who acquires them.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
It is no secret that tension existed between Spencer and the monarchy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The Ariel study is the second in a series examining what may once have existed beneath the surfaces of Uranus' moons.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
Large regional councils - which existed from 1975 to 1996 - which had responsibility for major services like education.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
This relationship existed for both women and men.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
But delays seemed all that this court existed for.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In August, there were 1.62 million existing homes available for sale, the highest since 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
And in September, a larger share of builders reported price cuts in an effort to clear their existing inventories.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Astronomers are finding that the first generations of galaxies do not always behave the way existing models predict.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
As the war has progressed, both sides have added autonomous features to existing drones, as well as developed new drones with autonomous capabilities.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
They surround Alex with love and look at him as if he’s the crown jewel...then they glare at me as if I offend them just by existing.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
