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.

---

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 team also highlighted the advantages of time-bin encoding compared with many existing quantum dot based QKD systems, which can be highly sensitive to environmental disruptions.

From Science Daily • May 9, 2026

It also plans to build a new roundabout to replace the existing T-junction leading into Water Oakley Lane to provide access to the site.

From BBC • May 9, 2026

For users on Instagram and TikTok, "all the people they know and the accounts they follow" are on the existing networks.

From Barron's • May 9, 2026

“It’s a lifeline to keep functioning as normally as possible,” he said, explaining that the business lost money last year due to tariffs and has been discounting some existing inventory to boost cash flow.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Maybe he’s gone poof and suddenly stopped existing all together.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant