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

• 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

The film projects Coker’s vision of fashion as heirloom, clothing designed to outlive its owners and be passed down to new generations. —Hanna McNeila, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2025

The work of the future will not be that which outlives the machine, but that which can question, supervise, integrate and guide it. —Cristian Randieri, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

But institutions and policies designed to solve old problems often outlive their goals and yield new, compounding problems. —Tanner H. Jones, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025

My bond with these people will long outlive this show, and that is something that is beyond essential to me. —Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 15 Sep. 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