Showing results for "existing"

• present participle of exist.

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

See Examples For:

existing

This year’s El Niño is also expected to prolong an already existing marine heat wave — currently in effect for reasons unrelated to El Niño — off the Southern California coast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Under existing laws, banks have to maintain safe underwriting practices to protect against systemic defaults and their own failure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

An existing desalination plant with large white silos on Vulcano, one of the archipelago's eight islands, has made it autonomous for drinking water.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Babies and older people are among those most at risk of harm, as well as those with existing health conditions.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

For the Romans did in these instances what all wise princes must do: they must be on their guard not only against existing dangers but also against future disturbances, and try diligently to prevent them.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant