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Synonyms

live down

British  
/ lɪv /

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to withstand the effects of (a crime, mistake, etc) by waiting until others forget or forgive it

"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
live down Idioms  

  1. Overcome or reduce the shame of a mistake, misdeed, or the like. It is often put in the negative, as in I'm afraid I'll never live down that tactless remark I made. [Mid-1800s]

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.

“There are those coming from the Northeast that want to live down here and those in South Florida who want to finally live by the water,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The neighborhood looked a bit iffy, so they texted and asked, since I live down here, if I would take a look.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

And it’s less common now for you to just knock on somebody’s door and say, “Hey, I live down the street. How are you?”

From Salon • Sep. 13, 2025

It took Dole years to live down his image as a political hatchet man.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2024

A girl who used to live down the block from me was manning the register.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

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.