survival

noun, often attributive

sur·viv·al | \ sər-ˈvī-vəl

Definition of survival

1a : the act or fact of living or continuing longer than another person or thing

b : the continuation of life or existence problems of survival in arctic conditions

2 : one that survives

Examples of survival in a Sentence

The refugees depend on foreign aid for their survival. Small businesses are fighting for survival. the survival of an old folktale

Recent Examples on the Web

And bulking up seems like the only survival strategy for legacy media companies like CBS. — Elizabeth Winkler, WSJ, "CBS Investors’ Glass Is Half Empty," 14 Feb. 2019 Shackleton later returned for his men in a tugboat and brought them all to safety, ensuring everyone's survival. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Antarctic Expedition Hopeful of Finding Ernest Shackleton's Long-Lost Research Vessel," 4 Feb. 2019 The high-energy rock musical by Jonathan Larson celebrates survival among the artists and homeless of New York’s East Village. — Mark Kennedy, The Seattle Times, "Actor in Fox’s ‘Rent’ is injured and the show wasn’t live," 28 Jan. 2019 For today’s Player Ready gaming livestream on PCWorld’s Twitch and YouTube channels at 12:00 p.m. Pacific, PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray and Macworld’s Leif Johnson will be sailing the seven seas in the piratey survival MMO Atlas. — Adam Patrick Murray, PCWorld, "PCWorld is streaming Atlas on Twitch and YouTube!," 18 Jan. 2019 Winter is in full swing—and the current climate makes scheduling a soak in the tub less about leisure and more about survival (albeit of the supremely tranquil variety). — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, "From Luxurious Oils to Detoxing Soaks, How to Take the Perfect Winter Bath," 9 Jan. 2019 Don’t expect its hardcore focus on survival and crafting to change, however. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, "The 40 games we can’t wait to play in 2019," 26 Dec. 2018 Dantas now sees antibiotic catabolism as just another part of this bigger survival game. — Jonathon Keats, Discover Magazine, "Bacteria That Eat Drugs Could Help Solve the Antibiotic Resistance Crisis," 8 Nov. 2018 For most of us: 1,000 calories per day is survival, not sustenance. — Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About the Military Diet, According to a Nutritionist," 11 Dec. 2018

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