live
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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lives,
present (3rd person singular)
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lived,
past participle, past
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living
present participle
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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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lives,
present (3rd person singular)
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lived,
past participle, past
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living
present participle
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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:
"If there was any chance to live together, I wouldn't be here… I have taken my decision," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The gut microbiome includes the vast community of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the digestive tract and can influence digestion, metabolism, immune function, and other aspects of health.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
He likes stories that are provocative, humorous and say something about how we live.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Yet I’d actually adapted to and enjoyed easy Zoom live video meetings, which mirrored my regular courses.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
They’d find Hesterfowl, figure out what was happening, and go on to live how they were supposed to: Clare alone in Deadwood, and Gingersnipes in whatever Afterlife to which she belonged.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
"In the liver, for example, we have an aging clock built with protein data, an aging clock of metabolic data, and an aging clock of imaging data," Wen says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
New weight loss medications have helped improve outcomes for many patients, but inflammation in the liver can remain even after substantial weight loss.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
GDF15 also appeared to slow the progression of liver fibrosis, the accumulation of scar tissue that occurs as liver disease becomes more advanced.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
To explore how GDF15 affects advanced liver disease, the team used mouse models designed to closely reproduce human MASH.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
Ota ran between their legs excitedly; he had been given a piece of the warm liver, but he smelled the meat and was eager for more.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
But Cult is assaying the livest of stories.
From Time ● Sep. 5, 2017
I'm the livest, kickingest person you ever saw.
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
I tell you, my friend, I shall be the livest man in that room!
From Jessamine A Novel by Marion Harland
He went on to become a celebrated muralist in San Diego, where he now lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
"Every personnel injured and every ambulance, vehicle, or piece of equipment damaged reduces the capacity to provide emergency health and humanitarian services, putting more lives at risk and making the epidemic harder to contain."
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Throughout these tales, the careers of eminent scientific figures intertwine with the lives of ordinary people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Songs, art and literature that shaped the inner lives of history’s actors are usually overlooked while politics, war and social change appear to drive the national story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
We are the breakers or the broken ones, the people whose lives were touched by the widest periphery of deaths.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
It was exhilarating as strangers and former pupils popped in, from India to Brazil to Ukraine to a block away from where I lived.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
"She lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves," they added.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
If he lived in another property, they’re tenants.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Before joining the Journal in 2022, he lived in London and wrote a technology column for the Financial Times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Even girls who worked after high school, or the few I knew of who went to college, lived at home until they got married.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Multiplied across the workforce, that means less economic activity and a lower standard of living.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Scientists have identified a new species of lizard living in the high mountain forests of western Thailand.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
A photo of her grandfather Ricardo Ovilla and her mother in front of his bracero living quarters appears in “Help Wanted/Leave Now.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
But after years of fighting for my own bylines, my ambition now was to help my students thrive, make a living and not repeat my mistakes.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
We clean up the breakfast dishes, vacuum the living room, and do three loads of laundry, all without saying a word.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
