- (transitive) to live after the death of (another)
- to continue in existence or use after (a passage of time, an adversity, etc)
- to continue to function after (a difficult or traumatic experience)
- informal to endure (something): I don't know how I survive such an awful job
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sur•vive /sɚˈvaɪv/USA pronunciation
v., -vived, -viv•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to remain alive, as after the death of another or the occurrence of some event;
continue to live: [no object]A few were killed but most survived.[~ + object]Most survived the explosion. - to continue to live or exist after the death of:[~ + object]She survived three husbands, living until the age of 105.
- to continue to function or manage in spite of difficult circumstances or hardship;
endure: [no object]Our company will survive, no matter what.[~ + object]She's survived two divorces. - to remain or continue in existence or use:[no object]How did some of those crazy ideas survive after all these years?
- survive on, [~ + on + object] to live or exist with just enough of (money, water, food, etc.) to continue:surviving on bread and water.
sur•vive
(sər vīv′),USA pronunciation v., -vived, -viv•ing.
v.i.
v.t.
v.i.
- 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. - to remain or continue in existence or use:Ancient farming methods still survive in the Middle East.
- to get along or remain healthy, happy, and unaffected in spite of some occurrence:She's surviving after the divorce.
v.t.
- to continue to live or exist after the death, cessation, or occurrence of:His wife survived him. He survived the operation.
- to endure or live through (an affliction, adversity, misery, etc.):She's survived two divorces.
- Latin supervīvere, equivalent. to super- super- + vīvere to live; see sur-1, vivid
- Middle French survivre
- late Middle English 1425–75
- 1. persist, succeed. 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.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
survive /səˈvaɪv/ vb
'survive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
adaptation
- blackfish
- body
- Calderón de la Barca
- come through
- death camp
- exist
- half-hardy
- head
- Illawarra
- incubator
- last out
- live
- Livy
- Menander
- Pictish
- Polari
- Przewalski's horse
- pull through
- ride out
- scrape through
- spare
- stand
- subsistence wage
- angle
- Celtic
- fit
- fitness
- get
- good
- hand
- hardihood
- instinctive
- kA
- last
- law of the jungle
- mycoplasma
- natural selection
- obligate
- outlive
- overwinter
- perennate
- proletariat
- pull
- punch
- refugium
- rselection
- tench
- terramara
- thermoduric