to be, or to be real
I don't think ghosts exist.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
exist
verb (exists, existing, existed)
to be real; to live:
Does life exist on other planets?
That word does not exist.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
exist
ex‧ist S2 W1 /ɪɡˈzɪst/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive not in progressive]
[Word Family: noun: ↑existence ≠ ↑non-existence, ↑existent, ↑existentialism, ↑existentialist, ↑coexistence; adjective: ↑existent ≠ ↑nonexistent, ↑existing, ↑pre-existing, ↑existential, ↑existentialist; verb: ↑exist, ↑coexist]
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: exsistere 'to come into being, exist', from sistere 'to stand']
1. to happen or be present in a particular situation or place:
The custom of arranged marriages still exists in many countries.
Opportunities exist for students to gain sponsorship.
Stop pretending that the problem doesn’t exist.
The club will cease to exist if financial help is not found.
2. to be real or alive:
Do fairies really exist?
Tom acts as if I don’t exist at times.
3. to stay alive, especially in a difficult situation when you do not have enough money, food etc SYN survive
exist on
The hostages existed on bread and water.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ really/actually exist Do you think ghosts really exist?
▪ already exist Legislation to protect us from terrorists already exists.
▪ currently exist No treaty currently exists between the two countries.
▪ still exist (=existing in the past and continuing to exist) A number of his early photographs still exist.
■ verbs
▪ continue to exist We all hope the human race will continue to exist for millions of years.
▪ cease to exist (=stop existing) Many of these companies will cease to exist in five years' time.
▪ be known to exist Seven copies of the original book are still known to exist.
■ phrases
▪ the right to exist The president issued a statement recognizing Kosovo's right to exist.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
exist
exist [exist exists existed existing] [ɪɡˈzɪst] [ɪɡˈzɪst] verb
1. intransitive (not used in the progressive tenses) to be real; to be present in a place or situation
• Does life exist on other planets?
• The problem only exists in your head, Jane.
• Few of these monkeys still exist in the wild.
• On his retirement the post will cease to exist.
• The charity exists to support victims of crime.
2. intransitive ~ (on sth) to live, especially in a difficult situation or with very little money
• We existed on a diet of rice.
• They can't exist on the money he's earning.
Verb forms:
Word Origin:
early 17th cent.: probably a back-formation from existence.
Thesaurus:
exist verb I (not used in the progressive tenses)
• Do these creatures still exist in the wild?
be found • • live • • occur • |formal prevail •
exist/be found/occur/prevail in/among sth
still exist/be found/occur/prevail
never exist/be found/occur
Example Bank:
• He argued that ideas do not exist independently of the language that expresses them.
• I didn't think people like that existed any more.
• The technology did not yet exist.
• They appear to exist in significant numbers.
• a species with only about a thousand believed to exist in the wild
• companies that exist solely for the purpose of mortgage lending
• the enormous volcanoes now known to exist on Mars
• A temple existed here hundreds of years ago.
• The problem only exists in your head, Ben.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
exist / ɪɡˈzɪst / verb [ I ] (BE)
B1 to be, or to be real:
I don't think ghosts exist.
Poverty still exists in this country
exist / ɪɡˈzɪst / verb [ I ] (LIVE)
C1 to live, or to live in difficult conditions:
Some species exist in this small area of forest and nowhere else on Earth.
Few people can exist without water for more than a week.
No one can be expected to exist on such a low salary.
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
exist
[ɪgzɪ̱st]
exists, existing, existed
1) VERB: no cont If something exists, it is present in the world as a real thing.
He thought that if he couldn't see something, it didn't exist...
Research opportunities exist in a wide range of pure and applied areas of entomology...
[there V n] When Alfred Adler first postulated in 1908 that there existed an inborn instinct of aggression Freud argued against it.
2) VERB To exist means to live, especially under difficult conditions or with very little food or money.
I exist from one visit to the next...
I was barely existing.
[V on n] ...the problems of having to exist on unemployment benefit.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
exist
ex·ist /ɪgˈzɪst/ verb -ists; -ist·ed; -ist·ing [no obj]
1 : to have actual being : to be real
• She believes that ghosts really do exist.
• It's the largest galaxy known to exist.
• Does life exist on Mars?
• The Internet didn't exist then.
• Those ideas only exist in your mind. [=they are only in your mind]
• We shouldn't ignore the problems that exist in our own community.
2 : to continue to be or to live
• as long as doubt exists [=persists]
• Racism still exists in our society.
• The organization may soon cease to exist if more funding isn't provided.
• We cannot exist [=live] without oxygen.
• They exist [=survive, subsist] on a diet of fruit, nuts, and leaves.
- existing adj
• ignore existing problems
• making changes to the existing structure [=the structure that is there now]