Other forms: outlived, outliving, outlives
To outlive is to go on living after somebody else has died. Outlive her husband, outlived them all, outlive its usefulness.
It takes a direct object and needs no preposition. Applied to a thing it means lasting longer than something else, and outlive its usefulness is the fixed phrase for something kept past the point of any purpose. Note outlast, which is used of things and endurance where outlive is used of people and lifespans, though the two overlap.
1verboutliveTo go on living after somebody else has died.
“Tortoises often outlive their owners.”
2verblastTo last longer than something's purpose.
“The old dress code has outlived its usefulness now that we all work from home.”
outlive is a surviving.
Middle English outliven is out plus live, and English forms these freely — outlast, outrun, outnumber. The out- here means beyond rather than outside.
Middle English
outliven
English, today
outlive
From Middle English outliven, equivalent to out + live.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA