livelihood
Americannoun
-
livelihoods
plural
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say livelihood? A person’s livelihood is their means of supporting existence, especially financially or vocationally. Do you know the difference between livelihood, living, and maintenance? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of livelihood
before 1000; earlier liveliod, livelihod, alteration (by reanalysis as lively + -hood; compare obsolete livelihood liveliness) of Middle English livelod, Old English līflād conduct of life, way of life ( see life, lode, load)
Explanation
Your livelihood is the job you work at to earn the income that supports you. The word livelihood started out as the Old English līflād, or "course of life," and around the 13th century changed to livelode, which meant "a means of keeping one alive." As "-lode" morphed into "-hood," which meant "state, condition," the meaning of the word also changed to mean support for a person's life. That naturally came to mean your job, which provides the monetary support to keep you going.
Vocabulary lists containing livelihood
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Can I Work It? Words for "Job"
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"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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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:
Sam Dimond, owner of event production company Spotlight Sound, said he had lost his livelihood in the fire.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
And instead of simply asking fishermen to stop, it has helped develop snail farming as an alternative livelihood.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
In Paris he found a livelihood and literary standing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Emma Hodge from the East Antrim hounds said she is very concerned at the proposed legislation and the impact it will have on her pack and her livelihood.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
So Ged was informed that as journeyman-wizard, one seeking a livelihood from sorcery, he was not wanted here.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
That a wheel of Parmigiano could represent thousands of livelihoods.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
After earthquakes struck Emilia-Romagna in 2012, warehouses collapsed around hundreds of thousands of wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, threatening the livelihoods of the cheesemakers who depended on them.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
They could also have been hard to like—wealthy, Oxford-educated entrepreneurs who, as “the two horsemen of the recession,” destroy numerous workers’ livelihoods before following their own dreams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
But Greenpeace said the project will only "create temporary jobs while undermining existing livelihoods in fishing, tourism and small-scale local economies".
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Second, it encourages a healthy fear of humans—discouraging the cubs from wandering onto farms and being shot by farmers protecting their livelihoods.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
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.
