live
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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lives,
present (3rd person singular)
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lived,
past participle, past
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living
present participle
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to have life, as an organism; be alive; be capable of vital functions.
all things that live.
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to continue to have life; remain alive.
to live to a ripe old age.
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to continue in existence, operation, memory, etc.; last.
a book that lives in my memory.
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to maintain or support one's existence; provide for oneself.
to live on one's income.
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to feed or subsist (usually followed by on orupon ).
to live on rice and bananas.
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to dwell or reside (usually followed by in, at, etc.).
to live in a cottage.
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to pass life in a specified manner.
They lived happily ever after.
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to direct or regulate one's life.
to live by the golden rule.
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to experience or enjoy to the full.
At 40 she was just beginning to live.
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to cohabit (usually followed bywith ).
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to escape destruction or remain afloat, as a ship or aircraft.
verb (used with object)
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lives,
present (3rd person singular)
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lived,
past participle, past
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living
present participle
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to pass (life).
to live a life of ease.
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to practice, represent, or exhibit in one's life.
to live one's philosophy.
verb phrase
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live up to to live in accordance with (expectations or an ideal or standard); measure up to.
He never lived up to his father's vision of him.
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live down to live so as to allow (a mistake, disgrace, etc.) to be forgotten or forgiven.
She'll never live that crucial moment of failure down.
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live in / out to reside at or away from the place of one's employment, especially as a domestic servant.
Their butler lives in, but the maids live out.
idioms
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live high off / on the hog. hog.
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live well, to live comfortably.
They're not wealthy but they live well.
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live it up, to live in an extravagant or wild manner; pursue pleasure.
He started living it up after he got out of the army.
adjective
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It was the little gir's first time seeing live farm animals.
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of, relating to, or during the life of a living being.
Water forms about 50 to 80 percent of an animal's live weight.
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characterized by or indicating the presence of living creatures.
I stood still and listened to the live sounds of the forest.
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Informal. (of a person) energetic and quick to speak or act; animated, spirited, or vivacious.
The club members are a really live bunch.
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responsive to changing conditions, needs, etc., in an imaginative and proactive way.
I like this company—their approach is live and fresh.
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Informal. mentally, emotionally, and physically alive, often in a new way; invigorated, confident, and fully engaged.
After months of quarantine, I felt live and refreshed being exposed to places outside.
During pregame practice we were feeling live and ready for anything.
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made up of actual persons.
He has several studio albums but rarely performs before a live audience.
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(of a radio or television program, podcast, etc.) broadcast or released while happening or being performed; not prerecorded or taped.
I watched a live telecast of the royal wedding.
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burning or glowing.
We roasted our marshmallows over live coals in the firepit.
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being in play, as a baseball or football.
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(of ammunition)
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loaded or unexploded; ready to explode.
Watch out—that’s a live grenade!
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consisting of real bullets or shot, as opposed to rubber bullets or some other charge; explodable.
Security forces used tear gas and live ammunition to break up the riot.
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of current interest or importance, as a question or issue; generating much debate or discussion.
Sexual harassment in the military is still very much a live issue.
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Also alive electrically charged; carrying an electric current, especially if exposed.
Crews safely removed the live wire brought down by a falling tree.
On the subway line, the third rail is live.
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being highly resonant or reverberant, as an auditorium or concert hall.
Plants can absorb the echoes in acoustically live spaces like galleries and gymnasiums.
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having resilience or bounce.
The basketball was losing air rapidly and was barely live by the end of the game.
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moving or imparting motion; powered.
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vivid or bright, as color.
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still in use, or to be used, as type set up or copy for printing.
adverb
idioms
adjective
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(prenominal) showing the characteristics of life
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(usually prenominal) of, relating to, or abounding in life
the live weight of an animal
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(usually prenominal) of current interest; controversial
a live issue
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actual
a real live cowboy
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informal full of life and energy
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(of a coal, ember, etc) glowing or burning
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(esp of a volcano) not extinct
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loaded or capable of exploding
a live bomb
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radio television transmitted or present at the time of performance, rather than being a recording
a live show
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recorded in concert
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recorded in one studio take, without overdubs or splicing
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connected to a source of electric power
a live circuit
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(esp of a colour or tone) brilliant or splendid
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acoustically reverberant
a live studio
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sport (of a ball) in play
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(of rocks, ores, etc) not quarried or mined; native
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being in a state of motion or transmitting power; positively connected to a driving member
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printing
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(of copy) not yet having been set into type
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(of type that has been set) still in use
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adverb
verb
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to show the characteristics of life; be alive
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to remain alive or in existence
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to exist in a specified way
to live poorly
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to reside or dwell
to live in London
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(often foll by on) to continue or last
the pain still lives in her memory
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(usually foll by by) to order one's life (according to a certain philosophy, religion, etc)
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to support one's style of life; subsist
to live by writing
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(foll by with) to endure the effects (of a crime, mistake, etc)
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(foll by through) to experience and survive
he lived through the war
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(tr) to pass or spend (one's life, etc)
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to enjoy life to the full
he knows how to live
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(tr) to put into practice in one's daily life; express
he lives religion every day
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to refrain from interfering in others' lives; to be tolerant
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informal in one's sensitive or defenceless position
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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livesimple
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livessimple
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have livedperfect
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has livedperfect
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am livingprogressive
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are livingprogressive
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is livingprogressive
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have been livingperfect progressive
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has been livingperfect progressive
Past
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livedsimple
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had livedperfect
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was livingprogressive
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were livingprogressive
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had been livingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of live1
First recorded before 900; Middle English liven, Old English lifian, libban; cognate with Dutch leven, German leben, Old Norse lifa, Gothic liban
Origin of live2
First recorded in 1535–45; in 1930–35 live 2 for def. 8; shortened variant of alive, used attributively
Explanation
The verb live means remain alive. If you hope to live until you're 100, start eating vegetables. When live rhymes with give, it's a verb that has to do with existing — being or staying alive, or making your home in a particular place, like when you say, "I live on the planet Earth for the time being." When live rhymes with hive, it is an entirely different word with a very similar meaning, an adjective that means "not dead", or "living". So you could describe your two pet fish by saying, "The one on the left, floating upside down, is the dead fish, and the one on the right is the live fish."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The collection, she said, is a document of social history and shows how the way we live, even down to the appliances we have in the home, has changed over the years.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
A drone pilot can see the target in a live feed from the drone's camera.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
The company has also been investing in a sauce-making machine, and another focused on beverages, which will go live next year, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
For people who live in an area with access to fiber, cable or 5G fixed-wireless internet, Starlink is a tough financial sell.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
“That is a garden! And why in the name of the all-knowing Afterlife would I live among my mushrooms?”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Other descriptions have included it being like a mix of anchovy paste and high-strength cod liver oil.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
"I swapped two cysts for two scars on the ribs," he said, adding that he still has a cyst on his liver, which surgeons decided not to remove.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
They were also less likely to have gastrointestinal, dental, orthopaedic, kidney, urinary, liver or pancreatic problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
This resistance was most likely linked to severe fatty liver disease.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Then we have to adjust the patient’s meds until we get the chemo regimen in balance with the patient’s liver function.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
But Cult is assaying the livest of stories.
From Time ● Sep. 5, 2017
"I'm the livest, kickingest person you ever saw," he fumed.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was just about the livest and jumpin'est opera yet turned out by a young composer in the U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
Since most Britons fear they may go cold next winter, the coal problem is the livest issue in Britain today.
From Time Magazine Archive
It shall be with thee as long as thou livest.
From French Classics by Wilkinson, William Cleaver
"The main thing is to not put Sherpa lives at risk for a dead body."
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
A native New Yorker, she lives in Harlem with her husband and their 3-year-old daughter, Tallulah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
“He will be greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched through his music, friendship and kindness,” the post reads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
If your niece’s mother lives there rent-free, the trustee should be comfortable that doing so benefits your niece and there should be no rules forbidding it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Spanish flu claims one hundred thousand lives; Americans urged to wear masks, keep safe distance.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
The attacker had lived with his grandparents, as his parents were divorced.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Mr. Meyer’s connective work makes the lived experience behind these ideas easier to see.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
He previously lived in Florence, Italy, where he dabbled in opera, travelled by private jet and promoted his rum, wine and fashion brand -- "De la Espriella Style."
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Lopez has lived in the building for more than a decade and was one of the few residents who spoke during the July hearing to voice his opposition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
He lived entirely alone in a perpetually dying forest.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
There are now about 66 million people living in the U.S. who are 65 or older, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Accounting for population change, this means there are now one million young adults living with obesity in England - 700,000 more than if rates had not risen over the past three decades.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Investments could drastically change the ultimate amount a person has to spend over the rest of their lifetime, especially as Americans are living longer and spending two or even three or more decades in retirement.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
"So we hope that hope, goodness and living in peace and security will come, like in other countries."
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
“I can’t imagine living by myself, but sometimes my pop . . . ugh. He’s in a snit about this new movie.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
