verb
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to exist together at the same time or in the same place
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to exist together in peace
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coexist
Explanation
To coexist is to live in the same place or at the same time. If you, your roommate, and a cat all live in an apartment together, you can say the three of you coexist. You can use the verb coexist to simply mean "exist together," or it can mean something more specific — to live peacefully or tolerantly in the same place. Two countries might have to work to find a way to coexist despite years of conflict, for example. The word has been around since the 1600's, but it wasn't used in this second, diplomatic way until 1931. Coexist combines exist, "be" or "live," with the prefix co, "together."
Vocabulary lists containing coexist
co-, col-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Paradoxically, deep labour shortages coexist with high unemployment.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
John-Calum McLeod, or Cal, returns to Scotland’s Isle of Harris after attending art school in Glasgow and finds it difficult to coexist with his father, also named John, who disdains everything about him.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
This insight helps explain how magnetism and superconductivity can coexist in materials with strong directional properties like UTe2.
From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026
For an island where finance and farming coexist, banknotes offer a quiet but revealing snapshot of how Jersey sees itself, its culture, and its priorities.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
It was a compliment that allowed the two men to coexist and even to collaborate on romantic matters in the months ahead.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
