lived

American  

[lahyvd, livd] / laɪvd, lɪvd /

adjective

1. having life, a life, or lives, as specified (usually used in combination).

   a many-lived cat.

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-lived British  

/ -lɪvd /

adjective

1. having or having had a life as specified

   short-lived

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Pronunciation

Lived, meaning “having a certain kind or extent of life,” is not derived from the preterit and past participle of the verb live , but from the noun life , to which the suffix -ed has been added. The original pronunciation, therefore, and one still heard, is , which retains the vowel (ī) of life. Since the f of life changes to v with the addition of this suffix, as when leaf becomes leaved, this lived is identical in spelling with the preterit and past participle lived, and conflation of the two has led to the increasingly frequent pronunciation of this lived as in such combinations as long-lived and short-lived. Both pronunciations are considered standard.

Other Word Forms

• half-lived adjective

Etymology

Origin of lived

A Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; life, -ed ³

Example Sentences

That was OK if you lived in a shallow arc extending between New York and Chicago — not so good for everyone else.

From Los Angeles Times

He asked where she lived and tried to connect with her on Instagram.

From BBC

Like others who were injured, Makarem was taken to hospital by local residents who drove the wounded by car and animal-drawn carts because there was no ambulance service in el-Obeid, the city where they lived.

From BBC

New Brunswick launched a new investigation, this time looking at data from 222 patients, about 75 percent of whom lived in or around the city of Moncton.

From Barron's

For more than half a century, the sisters did not know if each other was alive, let alone where they lived, until a Facebook group helped Theresa track down her sisters in July 2025.

From BBC