English Lexicon

Sole survivor

/soʊl səˈvaɪ.vɚ/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #14500 frequency
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Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The only person remaining alive after a disaster, accident, battle, or tragedy.

    "He was the sole survivor of the devastating plane crash."
  2. 2

    The last individual entity, company, or species remaining from a larger group that has otherwise perished or failed.

    "That traditional bookstore is the sole survivor on this block of digital retailers."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term combines 'sole' from the Latin 'solus' (meaning alone or single) entering Middle English via Old French, and 'survivor' derived from the Old French 'survivre' (from Latin 'supervivere', meaning to live beyond). It historically emerged in military and disaster reporting to denote the singular person left alive out of a group.

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