DictionaryAI

survive

verb
sur-VYV/sɚˈvaɪv/UKsuh-VYV/səˈvaɪv/

Formssurvives, surviving, survived

5 meanings of survive

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive or intransitive
    To remain alive, especially in spite of danger or hardship; to live through a life-threatening event such as an accident, illness, or operation.

    Doctors weren't sure he would survive through the night.

    Only two passengers survived the crash, both with minor injuries.

    UsageSay you survived a crash or an illness, and survive on what keeps you alive: they survived on rice and water.

    Oppositedie, perish

  2. 2
    still existverbintransitive
    To continue to exist, as an object or idea does over time.

    Several medieval manuscripts survive in the monastery's library.

    The tradition survived long after the empire collapsed.

    UsageOften survive to this day or survive into modern times.

    Similarremain, endure, persist, last

    Oppositevanish, disappear

  3. 3
    live longerverbtransitive
    To live longer than someone; to outlive a person, or to outlast a thing.

    He survived all three of his brothers.

    Statistically, wives tend to survive their husbands by several years.

    UsageCommon in death notices, in the passive: he is survived by his wife and two daughters.

    Similaroutlive, outlast

    Oppositepredecease

    Note

    Shakespeare used it of a widow outliving her husband. Walter Scott, in Rob Roy, used it of a treaty outlasting the goodwill that made it.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Shakespeare used survive for a wife outliving her husband; Petruchio speaks the relevant lines in The Taming of the Shrew, Act 2, scene 1. folgerdigitaltexts.org
    • Walter Scott's Rob Roy uses survived for an alliance outlasting its original goodwill; Diana Vernon is the speaker. gutenberg.org
  4. 4
    verbintransitive
    To come through serious but nonfatal harm, such as abuse, assault, illness, or disaster, and go on with life, often with an emphasis on resilience.

    Those who survive often become advocates for others facing the same trauma.

    She survived, and years later she started a support group for others healing from abuse.

    UsageOften paired with thrive: not just survive but thrive; the person is a survivor.

    Similarcope, endure

    Oppositesuccumb

    Note

    The harm in this use is serious but not fatal, and surviving means going on with life after abuse, assault, cancer or disaster. The focus is on life afterward. It often suggests resilience, but it does not mean the harm left no lasting effects.

Less common meaning

  1. 5
    stay in leagueverbintransitive
    Of a sports team, to escape relegation and keep its place in its division or league.

    The club survived on the last day of the season with a narrow win.

    If they win tonight, they survive and stay in the top division.

    UsageOften with words of margin: narrowly survive, just survive, survive on the last day.

    Note

    Sports writing uses it with the threat left unspoken: a team that survives has escaped relegation, and the reader supplies the danger. It is the team that survives, not a player. The reward is simply keeping its place in the division.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of survive apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Anglo-Norman and Old French survivre, from Late Latin supervivere meaning "to outlive," formed from Latin super ("over") plus vivere ("to live"), related to vita ("life").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts