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:
“They are going to outlive everyone,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
So could brain organoids grown and maintained in a lab hypothetically outlive humans?
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
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
If you outlive the term, you may be able to extend coverage, but the premiums will rise sharply, because the policy converts to annually renewable rates.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
She will metamorphose into a wife or consort and raise faerie children who will adore and outlive her.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
If idealism outlives youth, ESG investing will grow significantly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
On the other hand, say she outlives you.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 9, 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
No, the Strokes did not save rock ’n’ roll, but the excitement of “Is This It,” fueled by a combination of tense energy and nonchalance, has outlived the initial hype that surrounded its release.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
I have already outlived my male predecessors by about six years — the oldest died at 78 — and I suspect I may not have many years left.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Natasha Gelman died in Mexico in 1998, having outlived her husband by 12 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Yet some traditions have outlived the kingdoms that created them.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
So this is where stylists go when they’ve outlived their use.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
If you expect to live a long time, a lifetime annuity can provide valuable protection against outliving your assets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Funds are outliving their intended lifespans as fund managers struggle to sell the remaining assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
If that happens a few years in a row, you run a real risk of eventually outliving your money, despite what the historical data say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
“We do risk — absent self-funded resources — that many Gen X-ers are at risk of outliving their savings and seeing even more elder poverty.”
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025
In Cuba, Fidel Castro held on to power long after Kennedy and Khrushchev were gone, even outliving the Cold War.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
