subsist on
phrasal verb
subsisted on; subsisting on; subsists on
: to use (something) as a way to stay alive : to live on (something)
poor people subsisting on just one or two dollars a day
The villagers subsist almost entirely on rice and fish.
(humorous) My brother subsists on pizza.
Examples of subsist on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In many ways YouTube is creating the cultural diet that the globe is beginning to subsist on.
—
Belinda Luscombe, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
These institutions already subsist on a sliver of American philanthropy: just 1.3 percent of all charitable giving in 2022, down from 1.9 percent two years earlier.
—Essence, 20 Nov. 2025
Ave, a bubbly woman in her mid-twenties, was the youngest of 12 kids from a farming family that subsisted on rice and greens.
—Natalia Paradies, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Dru Borden subsisted on this diet throughout his 20s and 30s.
—Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subsist on
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Belinda Luscombe, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
These institutions already subsist on a sliver of American philanthropy: just 1.3 percent of all charitable giving in 2022, down from 1.9 percent two years earlier.
—Essence, 20 Nov. 2025
Ave, a bubbly woman in her mid-twenties, was the youngest of 12 kids from a farming family that subsisted on rice and greens.
—Natalia Paradies, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Dru Borden subsisted on this diet throughout his 20s and 30s.
—Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subsist on
Cite this Entry
“Subsist on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subsist%20on. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
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