survivor

American  

[ser-vahy-ver] / sərˈvaɪ vər /

noun

• survivors
  plural

1. a person or thing that survives.

2. Law. the one of two or more designated persons, as joint tenants or others having a joint interest, who outlives the other or others.

3. a person who continues to function or prosper in spite of opposition, hardship, or setbacks.

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survivor British  

/ səˈvaɪvə /

noun

1. a person or thing that survives

2. property law one of two or more specified persons having joint interests in property who lives longer than the other or others and thereby becomes entitled to the whole property

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsurvivor
  noun
• self-survivor
  noun
• survivorship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• survivors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of survivor

First recorded in 1495–1505; survive + -or ²

Explanation

A survivor is someone who hasn't died: the word is used often about people who have been through a horrible experience, like a plane crash. Cancer survivors and Holocaust survivors have one thing in common: they lived through horrible ordeals and are still with us. The TV show "Survivor" made this word feel a little less weighty, but it still packs a punch. Anytime something horrible happens — like a car crash or an epidemic — you'll hear about the survivors. Some survivors may feel they are just lucky, but many survivors take pride in being strong enough to survive.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

survivor survivors

His father, Charles, had expanded the New Jersey real estate development business his grandfather, a Polish Holocaust survivor, had begun after starting out as a construction laborer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

"All the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left," survivor Buddhi Ram Dangol told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

It will stop becoming entertaining when every survivor has to wear SPF sunscreen rated at least 1,000 just to take out the trash.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Guest: Meghan Cliffel, writer, mindfulness teacher, postpartum psychosis survivor and maternal mental health advocate.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

Then, in the midst of so many animals, an even stranger creature appeared: a human survivor.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

But with the valley where the port area is located buried in more than 40 feet of mud, rescue operations are risky and no survivors have been found at the location.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

"I think we're actually almost in a harder position than we were even immediately after the attack," he said ahead of a memorial service for the victims and survivors which will take place later today.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Flood survivors from other hydropower sites described a terrifying rush of water that had engulfed them within minutes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

When 17-year-old student Max Avena visited the site of New York's fallen Twin Towers, hearing the first-hand accounts of survivors of the deadliest attacks on US soil left him "speechless."

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

“It just seems too convenient that it’s for Liston and Clarksville and Upper Tyson, and those are the same places where all the kids on the survivors list moved.”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• residue