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 Commission told the BBC it was "in contact with Greece to clarify the situation and recall the existing rules".

From BBC • May 7, 2026

The managers agreed that, right now, refiners are valued at less than replacement cost, so it’s cheaper to buy an existing stock than it is to build a new facility.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

Of course, there’s more to Novo than its existing portfolio of GLP-1 drugs.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Unlike existing systems, this design uses strong electrical currents and magnetic fields to accelerate plasma made from lithium, producing greater thrust at higher power levels.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

The first farmers didn’t even have any existing crop as a model to inspire them to develop new ones.

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

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant