outlive

out·live | \ ˌau̇t-ˈliv

How to pronounce outlive (audio)

\

outlived; outliving; outlives

Definition of outlive

transitive verb

1 : to live beyond or longer than outlived most of his friends outlive its usefulness

2 : to survive the effects of universities … outlive many political and social changes— J. B. Conant

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about outlive

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Examples of outlive in a Sentence

No mother wants to outlive her children. He outlived his wife by 10 years.

Recent Examples on the Web If a beneficiary in your will does not outlive you past the survival period, then that beneficiary is considered to have predeceased you. — Dallas News, "Coronavirus estate planning: Crisis planning at its finest," 16 Mar. 2020 Politics shift towards the progressive and away from calcified ideas that have outlived their usefulness. — Amelia Quint, Allure, "How to Prepare Your Career and Love Life For 2020's Great Conjunction," 6 Feb. 2020 Eastman’s younger brother outlived her by more than 40 years, giving him ample time to write his own story and shape both their legacies. — Joanna Scutts, The New Republic, "How Crystal Eastman Fought for Equality," 13 Jan. 2020 By their 70s, even rock ‘n’ roll legends are aware of their audiences’ focus on not outliving their money. — Paul Sullivan, New York Times, "Should You Spend, or Save, as if You’ll Live Forever?," 12 Sep. 2019 Scientists just added a large, sucker-mouthed fish to the growing list of centenarian animals that will likely outlive you and me. — Sean Landsman, National Geographic, "112-year-old fish has broken a longevity record," 2 Aug. 2019 Gonzales outlived her spouse of 62 years, seven of 10 children and four older siblings. — Vincent T. Davis, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio centenarian Ofelia Gonzales leaves legacy of faith and living life to the fullest," 6 Mar. 2020 But the quarantine might have also failed for a simpler reason: The concept has outlived its efficacy. — Vince Guerrieri, Popular Mechanics, "‘Unclean! Unclean!’: The Questionable History of Quarantines," 6 Mar. 2020 But users who wanted to make sure their tweets didn’t outlive their moment had to turn to off-the-shelf tools like Tweet Deleter and Tweet Archive Eraser, which delete old tweets at regular intervals. — Arielle Pardes, Wired, "Twitter Is Testing Out Disappearing Tweets," 4 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outlive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near outlive

outlive one's usefulness

Statistics for outlive

Last Updated

28 Mar 2020

Cite this Entry

“Outlive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outlive. Accessed 3 Apr. 2020.

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More Definitions for outlive

outlive

verb

English Language Learners Definition of outlive

: to live longer than (someone)

: to continue to exist longer than (something) : to outlast (something)

See the full definition for outlive in the English Language Learners Dictionary

outlive

out·live | \ au̇t-ˈliv

\

outlived; outliving

Kids Definition of outlive

: to live or last longer than That rule has outlived its usefulness.

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