live-in
adjective
Also residing at the place of one's employment.
live-in
American
[liv-in]
/ ˈlɪvˌɪn /
adjective
-
Also residing at the place of one's employment.
a live-in maid.
-
living in a cohabitant relationship.
noun
live in
British
/ lɪv /
verb
adjective
-
living in the place at which one works
a live-in maid
-
living with someone else in that person's home
a live-in lover
live in
Idioms
-
Reside in one's place of employment or schooling, as in They wanted a baby-sitter who could live in , or Joe was planning to live in at the college . This expression is used primarily for domestic servants or students. [Late 1800s] Also see live out .
-
live in something . Continue in existence, memory, or some feeling. This sense appears in such phrases as live in the past , meaning “to concentrate on past memories,” or live in hope of , meaning “to continue anticipating that something will happen.” For example, Alice lived in the past; she had no interest in current events , or Jim lived in hope of getting a teaching post . Also see live in sin .
Etymology
Origin of live-in
1950–55; adj., noun use of verb phrase live in ( a place )
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:
Though she is no longer Bandier’s live-in private chef, Tiedemann still sometimes cooks for Bandier and her family; she recently did Bandier’s birthday dinner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
They have a room upstairs in case they want live-in help.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
He and his live-in girlfriend mingled their finances.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026
Today, Rob requires round-the-clock live-in care, but he is able to take part in hobbies such as going to the gym, hanging out with his dog Denzel, and going to the pub with his friends.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
“You hush,” she says, removing her seat belt and rotating her seat all the way around so it’s facing the live-in part of the RV.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, is pledging more than two million shares to children between ages 11 and 17 who live in lower-income areas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Nearly a quarter of all marriages registered in Scotland last year involved couples who did not live in the country.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Around 1,000 Christians, most of them Orthodox, live in the Palestinian territory.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
He loved that, though he didn’t live in the past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“The question is, Why would you live in a house? Like some sort of”—the badger gagged—“human.”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
