Complete or survive the end of a period of time, as in Grandpa wants to live out his days in a warmer climate . [First half of 1500s]
Reside away from one's place of employment, as in She's a fine housekeeper, but insists on living out . This expression is used primarily for domestic help. [Mid-1800s] Also see live in , def. 1.
live out of . Lead a lifestyle characterized by a particular item. This phrase appears in such idioms as live out of a suitcase , meaning “to travel so much that one has no time to unpack one's belongings,” or live out of cans , meaning “to eat only canned food for lack of other foods or time to prepare them.” For example, Traveling for months on end, he got very tired of living out of a suitcase , or We had neither gas nor electricity for a week and had to live out of cans .
First recorded in 1965–70; by analogy with live-in
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I was working in a small German town as a live-out governess to a rich family.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2016
In Boston an average live-out nanny makes $35,000 to $40,000 a year plus benefits, about what the city's entry-level teachers make.
From Time Magazine Archive
But aside that, I really hope that things get easier for the average person… Living in California, it’s pretty hard to live out here.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
He could stay and live out his term.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Later Lisa, who often escapes but then allows herself to be brought back, snaps, “Who in their right mind would wanna live out there?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
It’s reasonable, Walden says, to expect the landlord to cover the unexpected costs that come with having to live out of a hotel.
From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026
Gallien wondered whether he’d picked up one of those crackpots from the lower forty-eight who come north to live out ill-considered Jack London fantasies.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
