subsist on

phrasal verb

subsisted on; subsisting on; subsists on

: to use (something) as a way to stay alive : to live on (something)

poor people subsisting on just one or two dollars a day

The villagers subsist almost entirely on rice and fish.

(humorous) My brother subsists on pizza.

Examples of subsist on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The entire inmate population subsists on the same meal, laid out across a single table that arrives on a descending platform once a day, stopping at each floor for a few minutes. —

A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2024 Was an ancient reptile, for all intents and purposes a 15-million-year-old dinosaur, actually roaming this expanse of creosote scrub, subsisting on beavertail cactus flesh, going about her day ignorant of the weather alerts, the headlines, the untold human tragedies? —

Outside Online, 23 Oct. 2024 Promoters of the carnivore diet argue that our ancestors subsisted on animals almost exclusively. —

Steven Kurutz Steven Kurutz, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2024 In the span of a few short months, Disney — the Hollywood studio designed more than any other to subsist on franchises — once again is dominating its rivals after losing its No. 1 standing to Universal last year in a stunning fall from grace. —

Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for subsist on