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

Derived Forms

• unexisting
  adjective
• nonexisting
  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

“But everybody else who has those desires and are existing in fear … they’re not saying it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

"Energy exports are an important factor here with the US supplying more in international markets, largely from existing inventories," ING chief international economist James Knightley told AFP.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

General Catalyst Managing Director Marc Bhargava leads the firm’s Creation strategy, which is focused in part on providing capital for companies like Beacon to acquire existing businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

According to the researchers, these newly developed antibodies perform significantly better than any existing approach aimed at targeting SLAMF6.

From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026

The raw substances available to ancient peoples were natural materials such as stone, wood, bone, skins, fiber, clay, sand, limestone, and minerals, all existing in great variety.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant