Dictionary.com

live-out

[ liv-out ]
/ ˈlɪvˌaʊt /

adjective

residing away from the place of one's employment: a live-out cook.

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Origin of live-out

First recorded in 1965–70; by analogy with live-in
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

British Dictionary definitions for live-out

live out
/ (lɪv) /

verb

(intr, adverb) (of an employee, as in a hospital or hotel) to dwell away from one's place of employment
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with live-out

live out
1

Complete or survive the end of a period of time, as in Grandpa wants to live out his days in a warmer climate. [First half of 1500s]

2

Reside away from one's place of employment, as in She's a fine housekeeper, but insists on living out. This expression is used primarily for domestic help. [Mid-1800s] Also see live in, def. 1.

3

live out of. Lead a lifestyle characterized by a particular item. This phrase appears in such idioms as live out of a suitcase, meaning “to travel so much that one has no time to unpack one's belongings,” or live out of cans, meaning “to eat only canned food for lack of other foods or time to prepare them.” For example, Traveling for months on end, he got very tired of living out of a suitcase, or We had neither gas nor electricity for a week and had to live out of cans.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.