outlive
Americanverb (used with object)
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outlives,
present (3rd person singular)
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outlived,
past participle, past
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outliving
present participle
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to live longer than; survive (a person, period, etc.).
She outlived her husband by many years.
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to outlast; live or last through.
The ship outlived the storm. He hopes to outlive the stigma of his imprisonment.
verb
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to live longer than (someone)
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to live beyond (a date or period)
he outlived the century
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to live through (an experience)
Synonym Usage
See survive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outlivesimple
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outlivessimple
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have outlivedperfect
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has outlivedperfect
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am outlivingprogressive
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are outlivingprogressive
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is outlivingprogressive
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have been outlivingperfect progressive
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has been outlivingperfect progressive
Past
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outlivedsimple
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had outlivedperfect
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was outlivingprogressive
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were outlivingprogressive
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had been outlivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outlive
First recorded in 1425–75, outlive is from the late Middle English word outliven. See out-, live 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her inevitable set closer “Man I Need” is the caliber of a track that will outlive her and all of us, a song that will always belong to the lovers yet to come.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
I wanted to have my children and grandchildren all outlive me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Khan wrote that Bhosle was "a talent that will outlive many" and that her "voice has been one of the pillars of Indian cinema and will continue to resonate world over for centuries to come".
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
"The diplomatic relationship between USA and South Africa predate the Trump administration and they will outlive the current White House term of office."
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
Women who outlive their daughters are orphans, Abuela tells me.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
On the flip side, if he outlives me, how do I financially protect my nieces?
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
If idealism outlives youth, ESG investing will grow significantly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
In Adamsville, as in America, the myth of a man always outlives the man—and, today especially, seems also to outlast the truth.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025
And the state can’t put a claim on it if there is a co-owner who outlives the Medi-Cal beneficiary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
“A ghost is a hunger, one so strong it outlives the body.”
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
One of Zealand’s longest-term clients is a small-business owner who has a terminal diagnosis but has outlived the original prognosis.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Yet some traditions have outlived the kingdoms that created them.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
Holbein, Ms. Goldring writes, was always able to “distance himself from patrons who had outlived their usefulness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
But Adams outlived that prediction, livestreaming from his hospital bed during a stay for radiation treatment before Christmas and picking up again from his bed at home after that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
He had outlived all of my biological grandparents, and he had owned the house across the street from my mom since she was a baby.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Funds are outliving their intended lifespans as fund managers struggle to sell the remaining assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
That’s hardly surprising, since annuities protect annuitants from so-called longevity risk — outliving your money.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
People tend to view them primarily as investments to be judged against market returns, rather than as insurance against outliving one’s assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2025
Even the very wealthy fret over everything from strained family dynamics and outliving their savings to the specter of inflation and the prospect of missing the next big investment trend.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
Baby Kochamma loved the Ayemenem house and cherished the furniture that she had inherited by outliving everybody else.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
