live
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
lives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lived,
past participle, past
-
living
present participle
-
to have life, as an organism; be alive; be capable of vital functions.
all things that live.
-
to continue to have life; remain alive.
to live to a ripe old age.
-
to continue in existence, operation, memory, etc.; last.
a book that lives in my memory.
-
to maintain or support one's existence; provide for oneself.
to live on one's income.
-
to feed or subsist (usually followed by on orupon ).
to live on rice and bananas.
-
to dwell or reside (usually followed by in, at, etc.).
to live in a cottage.
-
to pass life in a specified manner.
They lived happily ever after.
-
to direct or regulate one's life.
to live by the golden rule.
-
to experience or enjoy to the full.
At 40 she was just beginning to live.
-
to cohabit (usually followed bywith ).
-
to escape destruction or remain afloat, as a ship or aircraft.
verb (used with object)
-
lives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lived,
past participle, past
-
living
present participle
-
to pass (life).
to live a life of ease.
-
to practice, represent, or exhibit in one's life.
to live one's philosophy.
verb phrase
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
live high off / on the hog. hog.
-
live well, to live comfortably.
They're not wealthy but they live well.
-
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
-
It was the little gir's first time seeing live farm animals.
-
of, relating to, or during the life of a living being.
Water forms about 50 to 80 percent of an animal's live weight.
-
characterized by or indicating the presence of living creatures.
I stood still and listened to the live sounds of the forest.
-
Informal. (of a person) energetic and quick to speak or act; animated, spirited, or vivacious.
The club members are a really live bunch.
-
responsive to changing conditions, needs, etc., in an imaginative and proactive way.
I like this company—their approach is live and fresh.
-
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.
-
made up of actual persons.
He has several studio albums but rarely performs before a live audience.
-
(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.
-
burning or glowing.
We roasted our marshmallows over live coals in the firepit.
-
being in play, as a baseball or football.
-
(of ammunition)
-
loaded or unexploded; ready to explode.
Watch out—that’s a live grenade!
-
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.
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
being highly resonant or reverberant, as an auditorium or concert hall.
Plants can absorb the echoes in acoustically live spaces like galleries and gymnasiums.
-
having resilience or bounce.
The basketball was losing air rapidly and was barely live by the end of the game.
-
moving or imparting motion; powered.
-
vivid or bright, as color.
-
still in use, or to be used, as type set up or copy for printing.
adverb
idioms
adjective
-
(prenominal) showing the characteristics of life
-
(usually prenominal) of, relating to, or abounding in life
the live weight of an animal
-
(usually prenominal) of current interest; controversial
a live issue
-
actual
a real live cowboy
-
informal full of life and energy
-
(of a coal, ember, etc) glowing or burning
-
(esp of a volcano) not extinct
-
loaded or capable of exploding
a live bomb
-
radio television transmitted or present at the time of performance, rather than being a recording
a live show
-
-
recorded in concert
-
recorded in one studio take, without overdubs or splicing
-
-
connected to a source of electric power
a live circuit
-
(esp of a colour or tone) brilliant or splendid
-
acoustically reverberant
a live studio
-
sport (of a ball) in play
-
(of rocks, ores, etc) not quarried or mined; native
-
being in a state of motion or transmitting power; positively connected to a driving member
-
printing
-
(of copy) not yet having been set into type
-
(of type that has been set) still in use
-
adverb
verb
-
to show the characteristics of life; be alive
-
to remain alive or in existence
-
to exist in a specified way
to live poorly
-
to reside or dwell
to live in London
-
(often foll by on) to continue or last
the pain still lives in her memory
-
(usually foll by by) to order one's life (according to a certain philosophy, religion, etc)
-
to support one's style of life; subsist
to live by writing
-
(foll by with) to endure the effects (of a crime, mistake, etc)
-
(foll by through) to experience and survive
he lived through the war
-
(tr) to pass or spend (one's life, etc)
-
to enjoy life to the full
he knows how to live
-
(tr) to put into practice in one's daily life; express
he lives religion every day
-
to refrain from interfering in others' lives; to be tolerant
-
informal in one's sensitive or defenceless position
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
livesimple
-
livessimple
-
have livedperfect
-
has livedperfect
-
am livingprogressive
-
are livingprogressive
-
is livingprogressive
-
have been livingperfect progressive
-
has been livingperfect progressive
Past
-
livedsimple
-
had livedperfect
-
was livingprogressive
-
were livingprogressive
-
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:
"We hope that lessons will be learned from Mia's death and that changes will be made to prevent other families enduring the devastation that we now have to live with," they said.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
After a more than 27-hour return journey, the Dragon capsule carrying Crew-12 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean, according to space agency NASA's live broadcast.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
We don’t live in a vacuum and the company we keep impacts how we see ourselves and our decisions.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The new division also will span consumer products, partnerships with creators and brands, as well as live experiences like events, attractions and broadcasts, Xbox said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
‘Well, yes. The Ice clans. But they live out on the plains, not on the ice river.’
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
“It’s a vitamin bomb. So if you need to eat some liver or heart, that’s what you have to do.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Earlier research by Evans and his colleagues also showed that the vitamin D receptor helps regulate fibroblasts in the liver and pancreas in preclinical models.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
Researchers co-led by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University have identified an enzyme that may help protect the liver from the damage that can occur as the most common form of liver disease becomes more severe.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
While the second of the two liver transplants was successful, Campbell suffered further complications.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
He announced to the other doctors that he felt two fractured ribs and a one-inch-deep cut in the liver.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
But Cult is assaying the livest of stories.
From Time ● Sep. 5, 2017
Since most Britons fear they may go cold next winter, the coal problem is the livest issue in Britain today.
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
Rejoice, valiant champion, if thou livest and conquerest in the Lord, but rejoice rather and glory if thou shouldest die and be joined unto the Lord....
From The History of the Knights Templars, the Temple Church, and the Temple by Charles G. Addison
We need the dead to take on an enduring role in the lives of the living.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office recognizes the profound impact this tragedy has had on the families of those who lost their lives, the survivors, and the community,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
"It's just ludicrous," says Lee Hanlon, an England cricket fan who lives close to Edgbaston, but has decided not to attend next summer's Ashes because of the price rise.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
These drugs can change patients’ lives in beneficial ways, but there are still risks to be aware of, particularly when it comes to knee and back health in older adults.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
If they’d never taken me in, they’d still be here, living their lives in safety.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
It was the latest in a long string of extreme weather events I have lived through.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Abascal, who used a wheelchair, died in hospital two weeks after her eviction from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for 70 years.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
He said he had gone to the flat above where Laura Marshall had lived.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
In an interview with auditors she maintained she lived in California, although said she sometimes worked from Alabama and Tennessee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
As we stopped to get the ladder, I said, “Dad, I wouldn’t have lived up all my wages, in the Dakotas. I’d have sent money back.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Zhykovych now claims she was living a double-life, working with him as an agent "against Muscovy" – meaning Russia.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
One employee had been working and living in Idaho since late 2020 without disclosing that information to the agency, according to IP address records examined by the state auditor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
While economists have broadly backed the measures, they have driven up living costs and deepened hardship in Africa's most populous country.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
People are often living longer these days, and the years after leaving a full-time job can last for decades.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
He was making a living with his traveling puppet show and the monkey fortuneteller.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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.
