outlive

verb out·live \ ˌau̇t-ˈliv \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

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

See outlive defined for English-language learners

See outlive defined for kids

Examples of outlive in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of outlive from the Web

Participants will help with trail maintenance, gardening, and decommissioning site-responsive artworks that have outlived their useful lives.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Colchester Edition," 10 Apr. 2018
Johnson has outlived her two siblings and has no biological children.

— andy marso, kansascity, "This Kansas City woman's birthday puts her in rare company worldwide | The Kansas City Star," 7 Apr. 2018
Many observational studies have found that moderate drinkers have less heart disease and outlive those who don’t drink at all.

— andrea k. mcdaniels, baltimoresun.com, "Johns Hopkins to continue with international alcohol study despite criticism about funding," 31 Mar. 2018
The young woman who outlives her cystic fibrosis prognosis to an unanticipated adulthood.

— michelle au, BostonGlobe.com, "Humanely told stories of lives saved and lost," 21 Mar. 2018
All things being equal, if the BMI is scientifically correct, then my lean grandmother should have outlived my overweight grandmother, right?

— kimberly garrison, Philly.com, "BMI is 200-year-old medical lie. Why do we follow it?," 21 Mar. 2018
Sometimes birds outlive their owners, like Chewbacca, an 18-year-old white umbrella cockatoo that was returned to the shop after his elderly owner died.

— pam kragen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Escondido bird shop flying the coop after 40 years," 16 Mar. 2018
Participants will help with trail maintenance, gardening, and decommissioning site-responsive artworks that have outlived their useful lives.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Colchester Edition," 27 Mar. 2018
Yet the testimonial ended up outliving its subject.

— lindsay gellman, Longreads, "The Last Resort," 22 Mar. 2018

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.

First Known Use of outlive

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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outlive Synonyms

Synonyms

outlast, outwear;

Related Words

survive;

outstay;

abide (beyond), endure (past), hold (past), hold out (past), last (beyond), persist (beyond);

draw out, perpetuate;

succeed;

OUTLIVE Defined for English Language Learners

outlive

verb

Definition of outlive for English Language Learners

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

OUTLIVE Defined for Kids

outlive

verb out·live \ au̇t-ˈliv \

Definition of outlive for Students

outlived; outliving

: to live or last longer than

That rule has outlived its usefulness.

Learn More about outlive

See words that rhyme with outlive Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for outlive Spanish Central: Translation of outlive Nglish: Translation of outlive for Spanish speakers

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outlive

Definition of outlive

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outlive Synonyms

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OUTLIVE Defined for English Language Learners

outlive

Definition of outlive for English Language Learners

OUTLIVE Defined for Kids

outlive

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outlive

Definition of outlive

Examples of outlive in a Sentence

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First Known Use of outlive

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