survival

American  

[ser-vahy-vuhl] / sərˈvaɪ vəl /

noun

• survivals
  plural

1. the act or fact of surviving, especially under adverse or unusual circumstances.

2. a person or thing that survives or endures, especially an ancient custom, observance, belief, or the like.

3. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) the persistence of a cultural trait, practice, or the like long after it has lost its original meaning or usefulness.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or for use in surviving, especially under adverse or unusual circumstances.

   survival techniques.

survival British  

/ səˈvaɪvəl /

noun

1. a person or thing that survives, such as a custom

2. 1. the act or fact of surviving or condition of having survived

   2. ( as modifier )

      survival kit

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsurvival
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• survivals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of survival

First recorded in 1590–1600; survive + -al ²

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Explanation

As a wise man once said, “The history of the world, my sweet, is who gets eaten and who gets to eat.” That’s survival in a nutshell. It’s the act of continuing to live, usually when others fail. As the Bee Gees put it in disco’s heyday — survival means “staying alive.” If you look closely, you’ll spot viv in the middle of survival. That’s part of the Latin verb vivere, meaning “to live.” You might recognize it from words like vivid "lively" and vivacious "full of life." Combine it with sur- (over) and you’ll grasp the essence of survival: to keep existing despite hardship or after others die. Charles Darwin’s term survival of the fittest means that only the best equipped live will reproduce and survive.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

survival survivals

But conservationists caution that many questions remain unanswered, and say protecting the woodlands and hedgerows where dormice live remains essential to their long-term survival.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

Decisive increases can be more of a risk for smaller, countryside businesses whose survival often hinges on loyal patronage by regular clients.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

A school staple gets revisited: Millions of students had to read the coming-of-age wilderness survival novel Hatchet in English class.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026

The broader idea challenges the assumption that every unusual biological feature must have evolved because it provided a direct survival benefit.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

Their survival depended on ongoing diplomatic conversations between Wahunsonacock, the leader of the Powhatan Confederacy, and John Smith, leader of the Jamestown colony.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Most existing Celtic objects—found in bogs and burial mounds—are durable works in stone, bone, glass, metal and terracotta with rare survivals in wood, leather and cloth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

And there is Van Gogh's At Eternity's Gate - one of the very rare survivals of his first printmaking campaign during which he produced six lithographs in November 1882.

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2025

So, a therapy specifically aimed at preserving high intratumour heterogeneity may make sense according to this theoretical approach, as it may slow cancer growth and thus lead to longer survivals.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2023

Iberia, too, had execution survivals that resolved in freedom for the executed.

From Slate ● Dec. 4, 2022

This happened so long ago that if it were not for a few ceremonial survivals we might well doubt whether our forefathers were ever so held in bondage.

From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Basil Thomson

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Related Words

• continuity
• durability
• endurance

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