Synonyms

live wire

American

[lahyv] / laɪv /

noun

Informal.

an energetic, keenly alert person.

live wire British

/ laɪv /

noun

informal an energetic or enterprising person
a wire carrying an electric current

"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 wire Idioms

A highly alert or energetic person. For example, Sally's a real live wire; she brightens up any gathering. This metaphoric term transfers a wire carrying electric current to a lively individual. [c. 1900]

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

live wires

plural

Etymology

Origin of live wire

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

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:

live wire

"She's unstoppable, like a live wire," said Ice, whose blue eyes -- which gave him his call-sign -- warmed up when he looked at his wife.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Underneath the quiet sits a live wire: the “Magnificent Seven,” nearly left for dead after a punishing first half of 2026, but quietly coming back to life in the past two weeks.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 19, 2026

I thought I would have become less of a live wire, but that hasn’t happened.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

I preferred being “that girl who owns that shop” instead of “that girl whose shop ended up closing,” and who felt like a failing live wire because of it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2024

The only way the van’s atmosphere could have electrified faster was if I had thrown a live wire into a full bathtub.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023