survive

American  

[ser-vahyv] / sərˈvaɪv /

verb (used without object)

survived, surviving

1. to remain alive after the death of someone, the cessation of something, or the occurrence of some event; continue to live.

   Few survived after the holocaust.

   Synonyms:

   succeed, persist

2. to remain or continue in existence or use.

   Ancient farming methods still survive in the Middle East.

3. to get along or remain healthy, happy, and unaffected in spite of some occurrence.

   She's surviving after the divorce.

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verb (used with object)

survived, surviving

1. to continue to live or exist after the death, cessation, or occurrence of.

   His wife survived him. He survived the operation.

2. to endure or live through (an affliction, adversity, misery, etc.).

   She's survived two divorces.

survive British  

/ səˈvaɪv /

verb

1. (tr) to live after the death of (another)

   he survived his wife by 12 years

2. to continue in existence or use after (a passage of time, an adversity, etc)

3. informal to endure (something)

   I don't know how I survive such an awful job

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Related Words

Survive, outlive refer to remaining alive longer than someone else or after some event. Survive usually means to succeed in keeping alive against odds, to live after some event that has threatened one: to survive an automobile accident. It is also used of living longer than another person (usually a relative), but, today, mainly in the passive, as in the fixed expression: The deceased is survived by his wife and children. Outlive stresses capacity for endurance, the time element, and sometimes a sense of competition: He outlived all his enemies. It is also used, however, of a person or object that has lived or lasted beyond a certain point: He has outlived his usefulness.

Other Word Forms

• self-surviving adjective
• survivability noun
• survivable adjective
• unsurvived adjective
• unsurviving adjective

Etymology

Origin of survive

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French survivre, from Latin supervīvere, equivalent to super- super- + vīvere “to live”; sur- ¹, vivid

Explanation

To survive something is to live through it or endure it. You can survive a car accident, or you can survive your little brother's four-hour violin recital. The verb survive is from the Latin word supervivere, “live beyond,” or “live longer than.” Originally to survive was used in the legal context as in “you survive your wife and therefore inherit her kingdom.” However, nowadays you might say that you were able to survive a holiday at your in-laws’, that your brother survived his first round of job interviews, or that you will never survive another all-day trip to the zoo in ninety degree heat.

Example Sentences

If the sport was going to survive in the desert it needed stars, it needed personalities and it needed a cultural makeover — especially in Los Angeles, where the box-office draw was everything.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Importantly, yeast cells that were genetically altered so they could not form these RNP condensates struggled to survive under the same conditions.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

Now, McIlroy’s bid for a second straight green jacket will be decided by his ability to survive the weather melting peach ice cream sandwiches all over the course.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

As such, ski resorts and mountains have had to adapt to survive.

From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026

How would she and Sue survive the fire?

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Related Words

• bear
• endure
• exist
• get through
• handle
• keep
• last
• live
• recover
• remain
• ride out
• subsist
• suffer
• sustain
• weather
• withstand