survive
Americanverb (used without object)
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survives,
present (3rd person singular)
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survived,
past participle, past
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surviving
present participle
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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.
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to remain or continue in existence or use.
Ancient farming methods still survive in the Middle East.
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to get along or remain healthy, happy, and unaffected in spite of some occurrence.
She's surviving after the divorce.
verb (used with object)
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survives,
present (3rd person singular)
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survived,
past participle, past
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surviving
present participle
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to continue to live or exist after the death, cessation, or occurrence of.
His wife survived him. He survived the operation.
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to endure or live through (an affliction, adversity, misery, etc.).
She's survived two divorces.
verb
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(tr) to live after the death of (another)
he survived his wife by 12 years
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to continue in existence or use after (a passage of time, an adversity, etc)
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informal to endure (something)
I don't know how I survive such an awful job
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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survivabilitynoun
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self-survivingadjective
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survivableadjective
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unsurvivedadjective
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unsurvivingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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survivesimple
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survivessimple
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have survivedperfect
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has survivedperfect
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am survivingprogressive
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are survivingprogressive
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is survivingprogressive
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have been survivingperfect progressive
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has been survivingperfect progressive
Past
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survivedsimple
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had survivedperfect
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was survivingprogressive
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were survivingprogressive
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had been survivingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see 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.
Vocabulary lists containing survive
Beowulf vocabulary
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"The Constitution"
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Unit 1, Week 1
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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:
"We were unsure of whether our little girl would survive," said her mum, Emma.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
“I would join those who are there to survive and make things better and rein in the bad stuff.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
In this light, posturing as sympathetic is an empty gesture, meant to encourage women into motherhood without actually helping them survive it intact.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
At those heights, conditions were cold enough for snow and ice to survive throughout the year and gradually develop into an ice cap.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
Surely even an undead creature couldn’t survive a raging fire.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Evidence for his administration survives on a clay tablet now held by the British Museum.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
County’s proposed Evergreen Fund would offer grants instead — if it survives the budget.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
A CEO’s most important task is simply making sure the business survives, he said, noting the challenges of the current era: trade wars and disrupted supplies of energy and chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Yet for many, affection for Castro survives even as daily life becomes harder.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
“In Hatchet, the kid survives a plane crash in the wilderness. At least that’s what Leo says. I haven’t started it yet.”
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Were it not for the financial and logistical support provided by the Comintern during this period, Ms. Salter suggests, the CCP might not have survived long enough to win control of the country in 1949.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Worker Buddha Tamang said he survived only because he was inside a tunnel at the dam where he worked when the flood struck -- but he had managed to get out and reach help.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
An original Victorian staircase and the stained-glass window memorial to former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, dating from the 1880s, survived the blaze.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Curry is survived by his nieces, Kate Lewis and Julia and Patrick Bullman; great nieces, Josephine and Georgina; and nephew, Mark Lewis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Now that I had survived a week and made friends on the island, I was less scared.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Archaeological investigations have identified surviving traces of the former camp complex, but Austria's Federal Monuments Office concluded that the remains were "not sufficient" for monument protection.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
But in a two-star review, external, Empire's Helen O'Hara says the film "tries to examine the difference between surviving and thriving" but "doesn't seem entirely convinced of its own answers".
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
There is also a special rule that can allow a surviving spouse to use the $500,000 exclusion for a sale occurring within two years after their spouse’s death, provided all requirements are met.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Greenland sharks are the longest-living vertebrates known to science, with some individuals surviving for as long as 400 years.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
An animal is only releasable if it will have the ability to return to its wild life and have an optimal chance of surviving.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
