subsist
verb (used without object)
to exist; continue in existence.
subsisted
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past participleof subsist.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof subsist.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
subsistverb (used without object)to exist; continue in existence.
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.
For decades, Steak ’n Shake subsisted in the middle of the U.S. fast-food pack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Cramped inside vessels overladen with precious cargo, crewmembers subsisted on a miserable diet of hardtack, an unleavened bread, and salted meat and fish that routinely spoiled and left many gravely ill.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
The population subsisted on an average of 1,200 calories a day.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2025
That was evident in their 17-15 loss to Arizona on Monday night, when they subsisted on five field goals from Cameron Dicker and consistently came up short in the red zone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2024
Some of the crops on which Austronesians subsisted, such as taro, yams, and bananas, had probably already been independently domesticated in New Guinea before Austronesians arrived.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
