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

Amazon has designed its Trainium chips with Marvell for years, and the two companies have an existing five-year agreement for multiple generations of custom chips, optical and copper-based connectivity and other data-center components.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026

OTTAWA—Canada’s chief U.S. trade negotiator said her mandate is to preserve the key elements of the existing North American trade treaty, with no intention to significantly revise or rewrite the pact’s terms.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

He added the system was “overly rotated” on finding new customers versus taking care of existing customers, but that mix will likely change.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

This suggests it could be developed into an alternative antimicrobial that works differently from existing antibiotics.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

When it comes to evidence, the new science was not inventing new concepts but recycling existing ones.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant