survivorship

noun

sur·​vi·​vor·​ship sər-ˈvī-vər-ˌship 

1

: the legal right of the survivor of persons having joint interests in property to take the interest of the person who has died

2

: the state of being a survivor : survival

3

: the probability of surviving to a particular age

also : the number or proportion of survivors (as of an age group or population)

Examples of survivorship in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

MassMutual’s survivorship policy is a good fit for couples interested in estate planning. —Liz Knueven, CNBC, 27 Dec. 2024

The team used this data to create what are known as survivorship curves – essentially, plotting a graph of how many individuals survive to each age. —Michael Irving, New Atlas, 29 Dec. 2024

Property is treated as a covered bequest when acquired by reason of a covered expatriate's death including property rights passing under a right of survivorship, annuity payments, property subject to a general power of appointment, and life insurance proceeds. —Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.d., Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

Current approaches to drug development, including those using AI, may have fallen into a survivorship bias trap, overly focusing on less critical aspects of the process while overlooking major problems that contribute most to failure. —Christian MacEdonia, The Conversation, 3 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for survivorship

• apostleship
• apprenticeship
• assistantship
• championship
• chancellorship
• citizenship
• companionship
• copartnership
• dictatorship
• directorship
• discipleship
• editorship

Medical Definition

survivorship

noun

sur·​vi·​vor·​ship -ˈvī-vər-ˌship 

1

: the state of being a survivor

quality of life in long-term survivorship (five years or longer) of patients who have experienced breast cancer

2

: the probability of surviving to a particular age

also : the number or proportion of survivors (as of an age group)

Legal Definition

survivorship

noun

sur·​vi·​vor·​ship

1

: the right of one or more joint tenants who have survived another to take the interest of the person who has died

2

: the state of being a survivor