live
▪ I. live 1 [live lives lived living] [lɪv] [lɪv] verb
see also live2
IN A PLACE
1. intransitive + adv./prep. to have your home in a particular place
• to live in a house
• Where do you live?
• She needs to find somewhere to live.
• We used to live in London.
• Both her children still live at home.
• (BrE, informal) Where do these plates live (= where are they usually kept)?
BE ALIVE
2. intransitive to remain alive
• The doctors said he only had six months to live.
• Spiders can live for several days without food.
• ~ to do sth She lived to see her first grandchild.
3. intransitive to be alive, especially at a particular time
• When did Handel live?
• He's the greatest player who ever lived.
TYPE OF LIFE
4. intransitive, transitive to spend your life in a particular way
• He lived in poverty most of his life.
• ~ sth She lived a very peaceful life.
• They lived their lives to the full.
• + noun She lived and died a single woman.
BE REMEMBERED
5. intransitive to continue to exist or be remembered
Syn: remain
• This moment will live in our memory for many years to come.
• Her words have lived with me all my life.
HAVE EXCITEMENT
6. intransitive to have a full and exciting life
• I don't want to be stuck in an office all my life— I want to live!
Rem: or
more at be (living) on borrowed time at borrow, be/live in clover at clover, how the other half lives at half n., lead/live the life of Riley at life, long live sb/sth at long adv., people (who live) in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at people n., be/live in each other's pockets at pocket n., live/sleep rough at rough adv.
Idioms: live a lie ▪ live and breathe something ▪ live and let live ▪ live by your wits ▪ live hand to mouth ▪ live in sin ▪ live in the past ▪ live it up ▪ live off the fat of the land ▪ live off the land ▪ live to fight another day ▪ you haven't lived ▪ you live and learn
Derived: live by doing something ▪ live by something ▪ live for somebody ▪ live in ▪ live off somebody ▪ live off something ▪ live on ▪ live on something ▪ live out ▪ live out something ▪ live something down ▪ live through something ▪ live together ▪ live up to something ▪ live with somebody ▪ live with something
See also: live with somebody
Word Origin:
Old English libban lifian Germanic Dutch leven German leben life leave
Thesaurus:
live verb
1. I (always used with an adverb or preposition)
• I live in a small house near the station.
formal inhabit • • occupy • • reside • |written people •
live/reside in/among/near sth
live in/inhabit/occupy/reside in a house
live in/inhabit/people the world
2. I
• Spiders can live for days without food.
survive • • come through (sth) • • make it • • pull through •
Opp: die
live/survive on (a diet of) sth
live/survive for a few days/many years, etc.
live/survive without food/money, etc.
live/survive/come/make it/pull through sth
3. I (not usually used in the progressive tenses)
• He's the greatest painter who ever lived.
exist • • be found •
Example Bank:
• All she wanted was to get married and live happily ever after.
• He lives in Cape Town.
• He was living quietly with his family.
• He's now living a life of luxury in Australia.
• He's still living at home.
• I absolutely could not live without my cell phone!
• I did want to live more fully.
• I shall remember this day for as long as I live.
• I still live with my mum.
• I'm not going to live here permanently.
• Many of the people live in poverty and misery.
• Most of the people live very well, with nice houses and plenty to eat.
• She disapproves of unmarried couples living together.
• She lived through two world wars.
• She lived to the age of 95.
• She lives quite near here.
• She tried to live vicariously through her children.
• She's lived at this same address for four years.
• The couple have lived apart for two years.
• They lived among the people of this remote island.
• They lived frugally off a diet of beans and lentils.
• They'll have enough money to live comfortably.
• Tonight she felt like living dangerously.
• We went to live in Canada when I was three.
• Who wants to live forever? I don't.
• Women live longer than men in general.
• You can live there quite cheaply.
• children living separately from their parents
• learning to live with disability
• living with Aids
• older people still living independently
• teaching children about the world we live in
• the need to live as harmoniously as possible with everyone else
• young couples looking for a place to live
• He's the greatest player who ever lived.
• I don't want to be stuck in an office all my life— I want to live!
• I live in an old farmhouse.
• She needs to find somewhere to live.
• Where do these plates live?
• to live (on) for decades/many years/all my life/the rest of my life