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

However, many existing models do not include clouds because they are difficult to simulate.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

It is not known whether Griffin is planning to combine the new property with his existing unit in the building, or if he purchased the latest apartment as an investment opportunity.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

More than 10 million tons of additional production has been approved in other existing mines in the last three years, stretching across roughly 900 hectares of forest.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

OpenAI already has existing partnerships with consulting firms like Bain & Co and PwC to help sell and use ChatGPT Enterprise, the version of its chatbot aimed at large companies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

For although Mr. Trabb had my measure already, and had previously been quite contented with it, he said apologetically that it “wouldn’t do under existing circumstances, sir,—wouldn’t do at all.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Related Words

• actual
• current
• extant