Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

survival

 noun
     
sur‧viv‧al W3
1 [uncountable] the state of continuing to live or exist
survival of
Illegal hunting is threatening the survival of the species.
The doctors gave him a one-in-ten chance of survival.
A lot of small companies are having to fight for survival (=work hard in order to continue to exist).
2

survival of the fittest

a situation in which only the strongest and most successful people or things continue to exist
3

a survival from something

especially British English something that has continued to exist from a much earlier period, especially when similar things have disappeared [= relic]:
The cult is a survival from the old Zoroastrian religion.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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