live

verb, adj, adv — 38 senses

live

verb

/ˈlɪv/ · [ˈlɪv]

Etymology

From Middle English lefe, lifen, libbe, libben, live, luvien, lyven, from Old English libban, lifian (“to live; be alive”), from Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną (“to live”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick”). Cognates Cognate with Yola live (“to live”), North Frisian laawe, lawe, lewe, lewi, lewwe, lääwe (“to live”), Saterland Frisian lieuwje, líeuwje (“to live”), West Frisian libje (“to live”), Alemannic German läbe (“to live”), Cimbrian and Mòcheno lem (“to live”), Dutch leeven, leven (“to live”), German leben (“to live”), German Low German lęven (“to live”), Limburgish leve, léëve (“to live”), Luxembourgish liewen (“to live”), Vilamovian łaowa (“to live”), Yiddish לעבן (lebn, “to live”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål leve (“to live”), Faroese liva (“to live”), Icelandic lifa (“to live”), Norwegian Nynorsk leva, leve, liva (“to live”), Swedish leva (“to live”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban, “to live”); also Latin lippus (“half-sighted, myopic”), Greek λίπος (lípos, “fat, tallow”), Lithuanian lipti (“to stick”), Bulgarian лепя́ (lepjá, “to glue, paste, stick; to plaster, smear”), Czech lepit (“to glue, stick”), Macedonian лепи (lepi, “to glue, stick”), Polish lepić (“to mold; to glue, paste; to stick”), Russian лепи́ть (lepítʹ, “to fashion, sculpt, shape”), Serbo-Croatian лепити, лије́пити, lépiti, lijépiti (“to glue, paste; to stick”), Slovak lepiť (“to stick”), Slovene lepiti (“to stick”), Ukrainian ліпити (lipyty, “to mould, shape”), Sanskrit लिप् (lip, “to anoint, smear; to defile, soil, taint”), रिप् (rip, “deceit, fraud; injury; enemy, traitor”).

14 senses
  1. 1To be alive; to have life.
  2. 2To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside.
  3. 3(of an object) to have its proper place; to normally be stored.
  4. 4To survive; to persevere; to continue.
  5. 5To endure in memory; to escape oblivion.
  6. 6To cope.
  7. 7To pass life in a specified manner.
  8. 8To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to…
  9. 9To act habitually in conformity with; to practice; to…
  10. 10To live as; to live being.
  11. 11To outlast danger; (of a ship or boat) to float.
  12. 12To maintain or support one's existence; to provide for…
  13. 13To make the most of life; to experience a full, rich life.
  14. 14To spend a great deal of time in a particular place.
1

To be alive; to have life.

  • He's not expected to live for more than a few months.
2

To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside.

  • I live at 2a Acacia Avenue.  At that time I'd been living in a camper for about six months.
  • Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 16:
1 more example
  • It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
3

Informal (of an object) to have its proper place; to normally be stored.

  • I washed your gravy boat. Where does it live?
4

To survive; to persevere; to continue.

  • When Lazarus left his charnel-cave, ⁠And home to Mary’s house return’d, […] ‘Where wert thou, brother, those four days?’ ⁠There lives no record of reply, ⁠Which telling what it is to die Had surely added praise to praise.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXXI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 50:
5

To endure in memory; to escape oblivion.

  • Her memory lives in that song.
  • He has now overseen three straight victories since taking over from Claudio Ranieri and this latest win, against one of the best teams in Europe, will live long in the memory for every Leicester supporter.2017 March 14, Stuart James, “Leicester stun Sevilla to reach last eight after Kasper Schmeichel save”, in the Guardian:
6

Excessive To cope.

  • You'll just have to live with it!  I can't live in a world without you.
7

To pass life in a specified manner.

  • It is difficult to live in poverty.   And they lived happily ever after.
8

To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually.

  • To live an idle or a useful life.
  • Many people write their romances, others live them; Honore de Balzac did both.1921, Juanita Helm Floyd, Women in the Life of Balzac:
2 more examples
  • By 1980, South Korea had overtaken its northern neighbour, and was well on its way to being one of the Asian tigers – high-performing economies, with democratic movements ultimately winning power in the 1990s. The withdrawal of most Soviet aid in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet empire, pushed North Korea further down. Kim Il-sung had held a genuine place on North Korean people's affections. His son was regarded as a shadowy playboy, with rumours circulating over the years that he imported Russian and Chinese prostitutes, and lived a life of profligacy and excess.2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:
  • But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 11:
9

To act habitually in conformity with; to practice; to exemplify in one's way of life.

  • to live the Gospel1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC:
  • The key to our freedom then, isn't begging for tolerance, but living our full rights.1971, Bart Moncq, Body Politic, number 1, page 8:
2 more examples
  • Change happens from the inside out and this great resource can show you how to live the habits that build personal and professional effectiveness.2006, Laura Cardone, Motivation at Work, →ISBN:
  • In short, he argues, in the modern era, “The only way to build a brand is to live that brand. You have to live the values and the mission, then let the customer decide.”2016 March 24, Jon Henley, “The aggressive, outrageous, infuriating (and ingenious) rise of BrewDog”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
10

Obsolete To live as; to live being.

  • at leaſt admit vs libertie, Euen as thou hopſt to be eternized, By liuing Aſias mightie Emperour.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
11

Ambitransitive To outlast danger; (of a ship or boat) to float.

  • That rockslide trapped me in a cave, and I was trapped for three days, but I lived.
  • No ship could live in such a storm.
2 more examples
  • (in a video game) I don't know how I lived that, I should've died like 8 times.
  • a strong mast that lived upon the seac. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
12

Followed by on To maintain or support one's existence; to provide for oneself; to feed; to subsist.

Upon; or by; upon; or by

  • It is hard to live on the minimum wage.   They lived on stale bread.   Man shall not live by bread alone.
13

Informal To make the most of life; to experience a full, rich life.

  • I'm sick of spending every day studying at home: I want to go out there and live!
14

Figuratively To spend a great deal of time in a particular place.

  • She lives on the Internet.
Synonyms
dwell, go on, last, remain
Derived terms
116 termsalive, as I live and breathe, can't live with them, can't live without them, cross-live, die how one lived, die just how one lived, die just like one lived, die just the way one lived, die like one lived, die the way one lived, forelive, forlive, I live in Melbourne, inlive, life, livability, livable, liveability, liveaboard, live a lie, live a little, live and breathe, live and die, live and die by, live and learn, live-and-let-live, live and let live, live at Her Majesty's pleasure, live beyond one's means, live dangerously, lived experience, lived-in, live down, live down to, live end dead end, live for, liveforever, live for the day, live from paycheck to paycheck, live in, live-in, live in each other's pockets, live in hope, live in sin, live in the moment, live in the past, live in the shadow of, live it up, live large, live like a fighting cock, live like a king, live long and prosper, lively, live off, live off the country, live off the land, live on, live one's best life, live one's own life, live one's truth, live on the edge, live on top of one another, live out, live-out, live over, live over the brush, live pair, live paycheck to paycheck, live paycheque to paycheque, live rent-free in someone's head, live rent free in someone's head, live rent-free in someone's mind, live rough, live tally, live the dream, live through, live to fight another day, live together, live-together, live to regret, live to tell the tale, live under a rock, live up, live with, live within oneself, live with oneself, live with one's wife's family, livication, long live, long-lived, longliver, man shall not live by bread alone, may you live in interesting times, mislive, one should live so long, outlive, overlive, people that live in glass houses should not throw stones, people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, prelive, relive, short-lived, shortliver, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, time to live, underlive, unlive, we live in a society, where do you live, where do you live at, you haven't lived, you'll live, you only live once
Related terms
abide, dwell, reside, stay

live

adj

/ˈlaɪ̯v/ · [ˈlaɪ̯v]

Etymology An apheretic form of alive.

22 senses
  1. 1Having life; that is alive.
  2. 2Being in existence; actual.
  3. 3Having active properties; being energized.
  4. 4Operational; in actual use rather than in testing etc.
  5. 5Of an object or value: that may potentially be used in…
  6. 6Taken from a living animal.
  7. 7Imparting power; having motion.
  8. 8Still in active play.
  9. 9Of a card: not yet dealt or played.
  10. 10Being broadcast ("on the air"), as it happens.
  11. 11In person.
  12. 12Recorded from a performance in front of an audience.
  13. 13Able to fire or explode (of firearms or explosives).
  14. 14Of an environment where sound is recorded: having…
  15. 15Electrically charged or energized, usually with a risk…
  16. 16Being a bet which can be raised by the bettor, usually…
  17. 17Featuring humans; not animated, in the phrases “live…
  18. 18Being in a state of ignition; burning.
  19. 19Vivid; bright.
  20. 20Energetic, attentive, active.
  21. 21Outstanding, top-notch, exhilarating.
  22. 22Of a syllable in languages such as Thai and Burmese…
1

Having life; that is alive.

  • The post office will not ship live animals.
2

Being in existence; actual.

  • He is a live example of the consequences of excessive drinking.
3

Having active properties; being energized.

  • Because the vaccinia virus is live, it is important to follow care instructions for the vaccination site.
4

Operational; in actual use rather than in testing etc.

5

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences Of an object or value: that may potentially be used in the future execution of a program.

  • An object in the heap is live if its address is held in a root, or there is a pointer to it held in another live heap node.1996, Richard Jones, Rafael Lins, Garbage Collection, →ISBN, page 4:
6

Taken from a living animal.

  • live feathers
7

Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Imparting power; having motion.

  • the live spindle of a lathe
  • a live, or driving, axle
8

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Still in active play.

  • a live ball
9

Card games, Games Of a card: not yet dealt or played.

  • As a beginner, when you are in a hand, you should practice counting your outs, or those live cards left in the deck that can improve your hand.2005, Alison M. Pendergast, Play Winning Poker in No Time, page 57:
10

Broadcasting, Media Being broadcast ("on the air"), as it happens.

  • The station presented a live news program every evening.
  • Are we live?
11

Of a performance or speech In person.

  • This nightclub has a live band on weekends.
12

Entertainment, Lifestyle Recorded from a performance in front of an audience.

  • a live album
13

Able to fire or explode (of firearms or explosives).

  • The air force practices dropping live bombs on the uninhabited island.
14

Of an environment where sound is recorded: having noticeable reverberation.

  • A good experiment is to have a friend stand in a fixed position in a moderately live room and talk in a clear voice.2002, John Eargle, Chris Foreman, Audio Engineering for Sound Reinforcement, page 21:
  • It sounds like the instruments were recorded in a fairly live room with reverb added.2016, Jason Corey, Audio Production and Critical Listening: Technical Ear Training, page 136:
15

Electrically charged or energized, usually with a risk of causing electrocution if touched.

  • Use caution when working near live wires.
16

Card games, Poker Being a bet which can be raised by the bettor, usually in reference to a blind or straddle.

  • Tommy's blind was live, so he was given the option to raise.
17

Broadcasting, Film, Media, Television Featuring humans; not animated, in the phrases “live actors” or “live action”.

18

Being in a state of ignition; burning.

  • a live coal; live embers
  • Call it a dead language if you want to—it looks to me like those Latinites were the live boys when it came to putting a whole lot of meaning into just two or three words.1916 March 25, Irvin S. Cobb, “"Unaccustomed as I am—"”, in Saturday Evening Post:
19

Obsolete Vivid; bright.

  • the live carnationa. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:
20

Dated, Slang Energetic, attentive, active.

  • a live man, or orator
  • Now then, Bill, I've recommended to the troop that they take you in, and the fellows have all voted in favor of you. These scouts are a live bunch and they all expect you to make good.1915, “In the Scout Cave”, in Boys' Life, volume 5, number 3, page 23:
21

Slang Outstanding, top-notch, exhilarating.

  • The party was live, and the music was jammin. All over the beach people in colorful swimsuits were moving to the beat.1998, Kimberly S. Phillips, Purpose Lies Within, Messenger Publishing, →ISBN, page 119:
22

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Of a syllable in languages such as Thai and Burmese: resonating, not ending abruptly.

Synonyms
living, alive, real, hot, in person, in the flesh
Antonyms
dead, blank, dummy, neutral, recorded, prerecorded, broadcast, animated
Derived terms
62 termsdraw live, go-live, live action, live actor, live actress, live album, liveamatic, live ammunition, live-ball era, livebearer, livebearing, livebirth, live birth, live blog, liveblog, liveblogger, liveborn, live box, live broadcast, livecast, live CD, live-chat, live coding, live conductor, live dough, live drop, live feed, live Internet feed, live load, livelock, lively, liveness, live oak, live one, live on tape, live rail, live recording, liverock, live rock, live round, livescan, LiveScript, live shot, livesome, live steam, livestock, live streamer, live stream, live-stream, livestream, live time, live-trap, live-tweet, live tweet, liveware, live weight, live wire, live-wire, livin, nonlive, real live, unlive

live

adv

Etymology An apheretic form of alive.

1

Of an event, as it happens; in real time; direct.

  • The concert was broadcast live by radio.
2

Of making a performance or speech, in person.

  • He'll be appearing live at the auditorium.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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