living

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living [noun] (MONEY)

the money that you earn from your job

US /ˈlɪv.ɪŋ/ 
UK /ˈlɪv.ɪŋ/ 
Example: 

What do you do for a living?

Oxford Essential Dictionary

living

 noun

1 money to buy the things you need in life:
How did he earn a living?

2 the way that you live:
The cost of living has risen in recent years.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

II. living2 S2 BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: verb: ↑live, ↑outlive, ↑relive, ↑liven, ↑up; adjective: ↑live, ↑lively, ↑living, ↑liveable; noun: ↑liveliness, ↑living, ↑livelihood; adverb: ↑live]
1. [countable usually singular] the way that you earn money or the money that you earn:
It’s not a great job, but it’s a living.
What do you do for a living? (=what do you do as a job?)
earn/make a living
It’s hard to make a decent living as a musician.
scrape/scratch a living (=get just enough to eat or live)
2. the living all the people who are alive as opposed to dead people OPP the dead
3. [uncountable] the way in which someone lives their life:
the stresses of city living
4. [countable] the position or income of a ↑parish priest
⇨ ↑cost of living, ↑standard of living, ⇨ in the land of the living at ↑land1(7)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
earn/make a living She was able to make a living out of her talents as a cook.
do something for a living (=to work at something as your job) 'What does he do for a living?' 'I think he's a taxi driver.'
scrape out/scratch out/eke out a living (=to barely earn enough money to live) The farmers in these drought-stricken areas are barely able to scratch out a living.
■ adjectives
a good/decent living (=enough money) Her husband makes a good living.
a meagre living British English, a meager living American English (=not much money) She earned a meagre living as a shop assistant.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

noun
1. countable, usually singular money to buy the things that you need in life
She earns her living as a freelance journalist.
to make a good/decent/meagre living
What do you do for a living?

• to scrape/scratch a living from part-time tutoring

2. uncountable a way or style of life
everyday living
communal living
plain living
Their standard of living is very low.
The cost of living has risen sharply.

• poor living conditions/standards

3. the living plural people who are alive now
• the living and the dead

see land of the living at  land  n.

4. countable (BrE) (especially in the past) a position in the Church as a priest and the income and house that go with this
Syn:  benefice  
Example Bank:
He asked what I did for a living.
He makes a good living as a builder.
Her dream was to earn her living as a singer.
She eked out a meagre living as an artist's model.
Ten acres provides a decent living for a rural family.
They were forced to scrape a living by selling things on the streets.
Most homes for the elderly are based on communal living, with pensioners spending the daytime in a common space.
The classes are about helping children make informed choices about healthy living.
• The prisoners' living conditions were appalling.

• We need to reconsider our daily living arrangements.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
 

living / ˈlɪv.ɪŋ / noun (MONEY)

B2 [ C ] the money that you earn from your job:

What do you do for a living? (= What is your job?)

I mean, I don't like my job but at least it's a living (= a way of earning money) .

You can make a good living (= earn a lot of money) in sales if you have the right attitude.

→  See also livelihood

[ C ] old-fashioned in the Church of England, the job, given to a priest, of being in charge of a particular area

 

living / ˈlɪv.ɪŋ / noun [ U ] (WAY OF LIFE)

the way in which you live your life:

country/healthy living

→  See also cost of living
 

living / ˈlɪv.ɪŋ / noun (PEOPLE)

the living [ plural ] people who are still alive:

On this anniversary of the tragedy we remember the living as well as the dead.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

living

[lɪ̱vɪŋ]
 ♦♦♦
 livings

 1) N-COUNT: usu sing The work that you do for a living is the work that you do in order to earn the money that you need.
  Father never talked about what he did for a living...
  He earns his living doing all kinds of things.
 2) N-UNCOUNT: with supp You use living when you are talking about the quality of people's daily lives.
  Olivia has always been a model of healthy living.
  ...the stresses of urban living.
 3) ADJ: ADJ n You use living to talk about the places where people relax when they are not working.
  The spacious living quarters were on the second floor...
  The study links the main living area to the kitchen.
 4) N-PLURAL: the N The living are people who are alive, rather than people who have died.
  The young man is dead. We have only to consider the living.
  Ant:
  dead
 5) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that someone scrapes a living or scratches a living, you mean that they manage to earn enough to live on, but it is very difficult. In American English, you say they scrape out a living or scratch out a living.
  He almost manages to scrape a living as an artist.
  Syn:
  get by
 6) living proofsee proof
 in living memorysee memory
 the world owes them a livingsee world

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

living

2living noun, pl -ings
1 [count] : a way of earning money : the money that someone needs to pay for housing, food, etc. - usually singular
• His investments provide him with a good living. [=provide him with enough money to live well]
• What do you do for a living? [=what is your job?]
• He struggled to scratch/eke out a living as a farmer.
• He earned a/his living as a cook. = He made a living by working as a cook.
2 [noncount] : a way of living
• the challenges of city living
• outdoor living
• healthy living
• It's summertime, and the living is easy.
- see also assisted living, cost of living, standard of living
3 the living : people who are alive
the living and the dead
• The world belongs to the living.
in the land of the living
- see 1land