Word of the Day.

survive   

 

Function: verb

Inflected forms:
survives; survived; surviving

Meanings:
1 a [no object] : to remain alive : to continue to live
Examples:
<I don’t see how any creature can survive under those conditions.>
<(humorous) He didn’t think he could survive without golf.>

Note: This sense of survive is often followed by on.
Examples:
<The plant survives on very little water.>
<They managed to survive on his small salary.>

1 b [no object] : to continue to exist
Examples:
<Only a few written records survive from those times.>
<Some of the original bridges survive.>
<Many businesses are struggling to survive in today's economy.>

2 [with object] : to remain alive after the death of (someone) : outlive
Examples:
<Only his son survived him.>

Note: This sense of survive is often used as (be) survived.
Example:
<She is survived by her three children.>

3 a [with object] : to continue to be alive or to exist after (something)
Examples:
<They survived the crash/flood.>
<The fruit trees didn’t survive [=live through] the harsh winter.>

3 b [with object] : to continue to function, succeed, etc., in spite of (something)
Examples:
<He survived a political scandal and was elected to the state legislature.>
<The company survived the recession.>

Derived forms:
survivable adjective
Comparative and superlative forms: more survivable; most survivable
Example:
<This form of cancer is survivable if it's detected early.>

surviving adjective
Examples:
<one of the few surviving traditions>
<His son is his sole surviving heir.>