exist

[ig-zist]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exist ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to have actual being; be: The world exists, whether you like it or not.

to have life or animation; live.

to continue to be or live: Belief in magic still exists.

to have being in a specified place or under certain conditions; be found; occur: Hunger exists in many parts of the world.

to achieve the basic needs of existence, as food and shelter: He's not living, he's merely existing.

Nearby words

Origin of exist

1595–1605; < Latin ex(s)istere to exist, appear, emerge, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + sistere to stand

SYNONYMS FOR exist

3. survive, persist, last, endure, stay, remain.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exist ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsex·ist·er, nounnon·ex·ist·ing, adjectiveun·ex·ist·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exist

What conflicts do exist between them derive from misunderstanding and accident.
The 2014 Novel of the Year|Nathaniel Rich|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While it does service the community, it also gives them a place to call home and exist without any stigmas from the outside world.
The LGBT Center That Changed Our Lives|Justin Jones|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Both projects only exist because internet.org enables users to access info via the Internet for free.
Silicon Valley Sets Its Sights on Africa|Christian Borys|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Methane could be produced by microbes on Mars, too, if they exist in enough numbers.
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?|Matthew R. Francis|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Currently, real-time surveillance systems of disease do not exist.
The Secret to Tracking Ebola, MERS, and Flu? Sewers|Wudan Yan|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These conservatives are not without value, but they can only exist in a fixed state of society.
The Puddleford Papers,|H. H. Riley
The existence of a devil—a creature made by God, and the author of evil that will exist forever.
Handbook of Freethought|Various
Special reasons may exist in some particular case why a man in this class has not entered into such relation.
Defense of the Faith and the Saints (Volume 1 of 2)|B. H. Roberts
Their growth has required ages, and during their development many a parent stalk has ceased to exist.
A Manual of the Antiquity of Man|J. P. MacLean
The finest cattle are said to exist in Khokand, and among the Karakalpaks on the Oxus, whose exclusive occupation is to rear them.
Sketches of Central Asia (1868)|Arminius Vmbry

British Dictionary definitions for exist

exist

verb (intr)

to have being or reality; to be

to eke out a living; stay alive; surviveI can barely exist on this wage

to be living; live

to be present under specified conditions or in a specified placesharks exist in the Pacific

philosophy

to be actual rather than merely possible
to be a member of the domain of some theory, an element of some possible world, etc
to have contingent being while free, responsible, and aware of one's situation

Derived Formsexisting, adjective

Word Origin for exist

C17: from Latin exsistere to step forth, from ex- 1 + sistere to stand

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

Word Origin and History for exist

exist

c.1600, from French exister (17c.), from Latin existere/exsistere "to step out, stand forth, emerge, appear; exist, be" (see existence). "The late appearance of the word is remarkable" [OED]. Related: Existed; existing.