survivorship
Americannoun
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the state of being a survivor.
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Law. a right of a person to property on the death of another having a joint interest: in the case of more than two joint tenants, the property passes to successive survivors.
Etymology
Origin of survivorship
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.
Social Security comes with a survivorship clause, meaning that when the spouse getting the higher Social Security payments dies, the surviving spouse can trade up and get the higher of the two payments.
From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026
For example, bank accounts owned by joint tenants with right of survivorship will automatically pass to the surviving account holder, no matter what the will says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
The researchers propose that rising NDRG1 levels reflect what they call a "cellular survivorship bias."
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
Even if one Social Security benefit goes away after death, people with survivorship pensions and required minimum distributions on other retirement accounts can find themselves in a higher tax bracket, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 4, 2026
The declining health of his partner had made him speculate on the chances of survivorship.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 53, No. 332, June, 1843 by Various
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.
