verb

survive

suh-VYV

verb

To stay alive, especially after facing danger, illness, or hardship.

"Only a handful of passengers survived the shipwreck."

"She survived two rounds of chemotherapy."

To continue to exist, especially after something might have destroyed it.

"Very few handwritten letters from that era have survived."

To live longer than someone else; to outlive them.

"He was survived by his wife and three children."

How to Use Survive

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo make it through something dangerous or difficult and stay alive, or to still exist after time has passed.

Common mistake

In obituaries, "survived by" means the people left behind who are still living, not people who helped the person survive.

Common pairings

survive an accident survive a crash barely survive

Word Forms

survived past tense, survive plural, survived plural, survives singular, survive singular, survived singular, survivest singular, survivedst singular, surviveth singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Only a handful of passengers _____ the shipwreck.

Etymology

From Old French survivre, from Late Latin supervivere, "to outlive" — from super ("over") plus vivere ("to live"), the same root that gives us "vivid" and "vital."

Rhymes for survive

Ive five give dive live hive jive vive olive drive alive waive

See all rhymes for survive →