outlive

verb

out·​live ˌau̇t-ˈliv 

outlived; outliving; outlives

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 of outlive

• survive
• outlast

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

That shift often starts with something small, like retiring a ritual that has outlived its purpose, perhaps a meeting that serves performance more than dialogue. —Jon Rosemberg, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025

Ladies refuse to be diminished during one of the most important seasons of your life, the days of outliving men but doing it in poor health are over. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 3 Dec. 2025

Anne herself would outlive her husband by seven years, dying at 67. —Nathan Smith, Time, 26 Nov. 2025

Born on November 22, 1973, Hannah Shirley is now twice as old as most members of her species, having well outlived the typical 25–30 year lifespan of pygmy hippos in the wild. —Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing outlive

• outlive one's usefulness

Rhymes for outlive

• forgive
• ogive
• relive
• corroborative
• determinative
• germinative
• transformative
• give
• sieve
• resistive

Kids Definition

outlive

verb

out·​live (ˈ)au̇t-ˈliv 

: to live longer than : outlast