existing

[ ig-zis-ting ]

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 Words From

• non·ex·ist·ing adjective
• un·ex·ist·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of existing¹

exist ( def ) + -ing ²( def )

Example Sentences

Instead, she would embed women’s health research “in a big and dedicated way in an existing institute,” such as the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, she says.

From Science Magazine

But existing synthetic receptors are limited in the variety of keys they can accept and the activities they can trigger.

From Science Daily

Some of the pledges, including to recruit more police officers and build 1.5 million homes, restate existing commitments.

From BBC

The company’s existing properties will also continue to mix business and politics like they did in Mr. Trump’s first term, when his supporters spent lavishly at his private Florida club, Mar-a-Lago.

From New York Times

This risk-averse landscape has also seen studios lean more into existing properties for reboots and revivals.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant