existing

American  

[ig-zis-ting] / ɪgˈzɪs tɪŋ /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• nonexisting
  adjective
• unexisting
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of existing

exist ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

If something is existing, it's real. When you make a list of existing mammals, you can't include unicorns, because they don't really exist. Something that's real can be said to exist, or to be existing. The existing laws in your state are the ones that are actually on the books, and your existing friends are the ones you really have, and who are all alive and well. The verb exist, at the root of the adjective existing, comes from the Latin existere, "come into being," from a combination of ex, "out," and sistere, "take a stand."

Example Sentences

The working diplomatic document would formally extend the existing ceasefire for 60 days, allowing for a more detailed negotiation to take place over Iran’s nuclear program.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

The potential inclusion of companies like SpaceX or OpenAI could force passive funds to sell existing holdings in other large-cap stocks, according to a May 22 note from Goldman Sachs’s John Flood.

From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026

Dollar Tree has existing same-day delivery partnerships with Uber Technologies’ External link Uber Eats and Instacart External link.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

But this time, many companies are cutting prices across their existing offerings.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Maybe their planes would be taken away to beef up an existing men’s regiment, and they’d be back to square one looking for a way to volunteer.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant