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

“This is not a chatbot layered on top of an existing tool,” said Rema Serafi, KPMG’s U.S. vice chair of tax.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

Stadium construction is another leading cause of mega sporting event emissions, so using only existing venues, as Paris mostly did for the last Olympics, is one main way event hosts can address climate change.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has committed to sticking to the government's existing borrowing limits, known as its fiscal rules.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

NextEra and Dominion say it will take 12 to 18 months to close the deal, and they’re already on the charm offensive, promising lower costs, greater charitable giving, and employment commitments for Dominion’s existing workers.

From Barron's • May 18, 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