Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

existence

 noun
     
ex‧ist‧ence S3 W2
1 [uncountable] the state of existing
existence of
It is impossible to prove the existence of God.
in existence
The organization has been in existence for 25 years.
Scientists have many theories about how the universe first came into existence (=started to exist).
existence of
The very existence of the museum is threatened by lack of funding.
the continued existence of economic inequalities
2 [countable usually singular] the type of life that someone has, especially when it is bad or unhappy:
Pablo led a miserable existence when he first moved to San Juan.

➔ eke out a living/existence

at eke
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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