If you refer to the survival of something or someone, you mean that they manage to continue or exist in spite of difficult circumstances.
...companies which have been struggling for survival in the advancing recession.
Ask for the free booklet 'Debt: a Survival Guide'.
2. uncountable noun
If you refer to the survival of a person or living thing, you mean that they live through a dangerous situation in which it was possible that they might die.
If cancers are spotted early there's a high chance of survival.
An animal's sense of smell is still crucial to its survival.
Synonyms: staying alive, existence, being alive, viability More Synonyms of survival
3.
See survival of the fittest
survival in British English
(səˈvaɪvəl)
noun
1.
a person or thing that survives, such as a custom
2.
a.
the act or fact of surviving or condition of having survived
b.
(as modifier)
survival kit
survival in American English
(sərˈvaɪvəl)
noun
1.
the act, state, or fact of surviving
2.
someone or something that survives, esp. an ancient belief, custom, usage, etc.
COBUILD Collocations
survival
long-term survival
mere survival
Examples of 'survival' in a sentence
survival
The consortium bidding for the collapsed retail chain sees food as crucial to its survival.
The Sun (2016)
It is complete survival conditions out there.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The club has been through so much and you can feel what survival means.
The Sun (2014)
His research is arguably crucial to the survival of modern civilisation.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
My means of survival was my work.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The chances of survival for a chick being raised by the bird and its partner are said to be slim.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Profit is a condition of survival.
Peter F. Drucker THE ESSENTIAL DRUCKER (2001)
There were moments when the company 's survival was in question.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Survival is one thing, habit is another.
John Fisher Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing (2006)
And the animal 's survival depends on both.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The company 's very survival is a matter of some wonder.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Likewise, courage is not the same thing as survival.
Christianity Today (2000)
It said she would have had the best chance of survival if given antibiotics at 3am.
The Sun (2016)
It seems the England manager is crucial to the survival of our green and pleasant land.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Experts said most women caught their cancer early, increasing their survival chances.
The Sun (2012)
Here in the parched mountains, victims fight for survival in conditions worse than biblical.
The Sun (2012)
As such it may be very effective, may indeed be crucial to survival.
Peter F. Drucker MANAGEMENT: task, responsibilities, practices (1974)
To them, that bond is both a lifeline and a means of survival.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Concern has always been expressed about both of them - especially their safety and their chances of survival.
de Jong, Eveline Alternative Health Care for Children (1989)
I shut myself off and just tried to carry on with my little survival thing.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It is this ability to adapt that has been key to its survival: the company is the oldest brand in its field.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Some are grown in the hope of finding ways to engineer disease resistance and heighten chances of survival in adverse conditions such as a drought or cold.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Frankly, it's key to the survival of the company.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
survival
British English: survival /səˈvaɪvl/ NOUN
Survival is the fact of continuing to live or exist in spite of great danger or difficulty.
An animal's sense of smell is necessary to its survival.
American English: survival
Arabic: بَقَاء
Brazilian Portuguese: sobrevivência
Chinese: 幸存
Croatian: opstanak
Czech: přežití
Danish: overlevelse
Dutch: overleving
European Spanish: supervivencia
Finnish: eloonjäänti
French: survie
German: Überleben
Greek: επιβίωση
Italian: sopravvivenza
Japanese: 生存
Korean: 생존
Norwegian: overlevelse
Polish: przetrwanie
European Portuguese: sobrevivência
Romanian: supraviețuire
Russian: выживание
Latin American Spanish: supervivencia
Swedish: överlevnad
Thai: การอยู่รอด
Turkish: yaşam kavgası
Ukrainian: виживання
Vietnamese: sự sinh tồn
All related terms of 'survival'
mere survival
If you refer to the survival of something or someone, you mean that they manage to continue or exist in spite of difficult circumstances .
survival bag
a large plastic bag carried by climbers for use in an emergency as protection against exposure
survival kit
a set of equipment that will enable you to survive in dangerous conditions
survival course
a course that teaches people how to survive in the wild and in other dangerous environments
survival value
the utility of a behavioral trait or of a physical feature of an organism in aiding the survival and reproduction of the organism
survival instinct
the instinct in humans and animals to do things in a dangerous situation that will prevent them from dying
survival mechanism
something you or your body does automatically, in order to survive in a dangerous or unpleasant situation
long-term survival
If you refer to the survival of something or someone, you mean that they manage to continue or exist in spite of difficult circumstances .
survival of the fittest
You can use the survival of the fittest to refer to a situation in which only the strongest people or things continue to live or be successful , while the others die or fail .
Chinese translation of 'survival'
survival
(səˈvaɪvl)
n(u)
[of person, company]生存 (shēngcún)
cpd
[course, kit, guide]救生 (jiùshēng)
(noun)
Definition
the condition of having survived something
An animal's sense of smell is crucial to its survival.
Synonyms
staying alive
existence
Public worries about accidents are threatening the very existence of the nuclear power industry.
being alive
viability
life span
holding on to life
Additional synonyms
in the sense of existence
Definition
the fact or state of being real, live, or actual
Public worries about accidents are threatening the very existence of the nuclear power industry.