coexist

verb

co·​ex·​ist ˌkō-ig-ˈzist 

coexisted; coexisting; coexists

intransitive verb

1

: to exist together or at the same time

2

: to live in peace with each other especially as a matter of policy

coexistence

ˌkō-ig-ˈzi-stən(t)s 

noun

coexistent

ˌkō-ig-ˈzi-stənt 

adjective

Synonyms of coexist

• accompany
• coincide

Examples of coexist in a Sentence

The species coexist in the same environment.

Can the two countries peacefully coexist?

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a world in which both these positions—and their constituencies—can coexist. —Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025

Ultimately, those two things can’t coexist. —Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 5 Nov. 2025

Community ecology, or the study of coexisting organisms, is a relatively young branch of science, and rapidly changing. —Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 4 Nov. 2025

Editor Agnès Bruckert’s patient cutting allows the film’s fairly audacious tonal shifts (from tentative rom-com to psychological excavation) to unfold with poise, reinforcing the sense that catastrophe and self-redefinition can coexist within the same breath. —Catherine Bray, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1667, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for coexist

• blastocyst
• bolshevist
• egoist
• hedonist
• jihadist
• nativist
• oculist
• reminisced
• assist
• blacklist
• booklist
• checklist

Kids Definition

coexist

verb

co·​ex·​ist ˌkō-ig-ˈzist 

1

: to exist together or at the same time

2

: to live in peace with each other

coexistence

-ˈzis-tən(t)s 

noun

coexistent

-tənt 

adjective