live
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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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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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:
Adult social care provides state support to help people live more independently, including assistance at home.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Grandparenthood itself doesn’t appear to help you live longer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
He has been given about a year and half to live.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
These are the people who actually live there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Betsie, how can we live in such a place?”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The findings support earlier evidence showing that fatty liver disease and insulin resistance are the main disease processes affecting people in Tübingen's type 2 diabetes risk cluster 5.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
They bred four strains of mice with different levels of susceptibility to liver cancer.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
In particular, they’re examining how bacteria from diseased gums, and the immune response they trigger, may contribute to conditions including heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, arthritis, respiratory disease and chronic liver disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The researchers also examined liver MRI scans and blood protein measurements to look for physical and molecular signs of liver health.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
I feel my stomach and liver and all that mushy stuff that’s in there handling food, happy to be back in use.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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
Her late-night calls to reporters once made her phone line the livest wire in Washington.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Baboon said to the Stallion, "Please open thy mouth, that I may see what thou livest on."
From South-African Folk-Tales by Honey, James A.
Durov, 41, lives in France, where he has also faced legal issues over allegations concerning the spread of illegal content on Telegram.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Many other homes were more expensive and Richard is happy there, but Diane does not want to reach the point where she has to sell the family home where she lives to fund his care.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
This has a direct impact on the more than 100,000 patients currently awaiting lifesaving transplants, whose lives depend on Americans saying “yes” to organ donation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In a social media post, Zelensky described his meeting with Trump as “good,” and thanked him for working with him to “protect the lives of Ukrainians and advance peace.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Not for people’s lives but for a gesture.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
If I lived in Philadelphia, though, I’d be at the Chase lounge at Philadelphia International Airport before every trip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Quintero lived next to her cousin, and they became “pen pals” after he was sent to juvenile hall, she testified.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Businessman Mohamed Mohideen has lived in Osaka for the past 39 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Astronauts and cosmonauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station for more than 25 years.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
How she lived all her life not knowing what had happened to her, until her one true friend came back into her life.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
The biggest change it found was where those in their 20s are living.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
As French firefighters struggle to contain the worst wildfires in living memory with just 12 aerial water bombers, production of the iconic aircraft creaks along half a world away in a Canadian factory.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
In 1960, they were in New York City’s Greenwich Village when the Weavers’ Ronnie Gilbert invited my father to a living wake for the ailing folk singer Cisco Houston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Naomi: We wanted to be with our people and show the real Yoruba, Cuban way of living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
As their horizons broadened, I would tell them about the people living in the Beje, people who never had a visitor, never a piece of mail.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
