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:
Paramount's "Heart of the Beast," starring Brad Pitt as a former soldier and his loyal but traumatized combat dog as they survive in the Alaskan wilderness, finished in fourth place with $7.1 million.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Around nine in ten people treated for stage one bowel cancer survive for at least five years.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Most Kyiv residents will do what they can to survive another tough winter in the capital, just as they have before.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
As coral reefs struggle to survive, many sharks are losing their main food source, but humans are to blame for that one.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Can they find water and bamboo? Can they survive the different seasons, as the amount of food can vary between seasons.”
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
Yet a similar techno-utopian pitch survives in today’s smart homes and domestic technologies, from assistants like Alexa to artificial intelligence marketed as a way to make life easier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Remember how the ball strikes the left field pole—bonnngggggg—and Boston survives with a win?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Our results show that the proposal survives the most detailed test available today and provides clear targets for future observations.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
Cathy, meanwhile, deciphers the key to life through Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” a story about a girl like her who survives an upside-down world.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
They say no plan survives first contact with implementation.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
The few carousel companies that survived the Depression largely did so by switching to a cheaper, mass-produced product, such as transitioning from wood to aluminum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Eighty-two people survived the shipwreck, all Ethiopian nationals, according to the updated toll.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Christa Pike, the Tennessee inmate who survived the state’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection, was discharged from the hospital and is back in prison, her attorneys said Saturday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Pike's case is now in uncharted territory as Pike is believed to be the only person to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
He also survived cerebral malaria, a severe mosquito-borne illness that can cause paralysis, coma, and death.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Much of the region's vegetation consists of grasses, saltbush, and mulga, a slow-growing evergreen tree capable of surviving in dry conditions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
Believed to be the last surviving member of these Polish codebreakers, Ferdynand Stanislaw Vanke grew up in Krakow, but fled at the age of 16 when war arrived on his doorstep in 1939.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
So it’s quite the bounty that the exhibition presents 16 surviving silent-screen treasures along with stills and film clips that show the pieces in action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
El-Sayed is not merely surviving Fox News hits.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Eileen met and talked with the surviving Mercury 13 women.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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.
