live
live down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you are unable to live down a mistake, failure, or bad reputation, you are unable to make people forget about it.
Labour was also unable to live down its reputation as the party of high taxes...
I thought I'd never live it down.live off
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you live off another person, you rely on them to provide you with money.
...a man who all his life had lived off his father.live on
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If someone lives on, they continue to be alive for a long time after a particular point in time or after a particular event.
I know my life has been cut short by this terrible virus but Daniel will live on after me.live on
or live off
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P amount, V P amount
If you live on or live off a particular amount of money, you have that amount of money to buy things.
Even with efficient budgeting, most students are unable to live on £4000 per year...
You'll have enough to live on...
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If you live on or live off a particular source of income, that is where you get the money that you need.
The proportion of Americans living on welfare rose...
He's been living off state benefits.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If an animal lives on or lives off a particular food, this is the kind of food that it eats.
The fish live on the plankton...
Most species live off aquatic snails.
4 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If you say that a person lives on or lives off a particular kind of food, you mean that it seems to be the only thing that they eat, for example because they like it a lot or because they do not have other foods.
The children live on chips...
Their room was bare of furniture and they lived off porridge.live out
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you live out your life in a particular place or in particular circumstances, you stay in that place or in those circumstances until the end of your life or until the end of a particular period of your life.
Gein did not stand trial but lived out his days in a mental asylum...
I couldn't live my life out on tour like he does.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you live out a dream or idea, you do the things that you have thought about.
He began living out his rock `n' roll fantasy during his last year in law school...
I suppose some people create an idea of who they want to be, and then they live it out.live through
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you live through an unpleasant event or change, you experience it and survive.
We are too young to have lived through the war...live together
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If two people are not married but live in the same house and have a sexual relationship, you can say that they live together.
The couple had been living together for 16 years.live up to
[PHRASAL VERB] V P P n
If someone or something lives up to what they were expected to be, they are as good as they were expected to be.
Sales have not lived up to expectations this year...live wire /l'aɪv w'aɪ'ər/ (live wires)
[N-COUNT]
If you describe someone as a live wire, you mean that they are lively and energetic. (INFORMAL)♦♦♦ live1 /l'ɪv/ (live lives living lived) VERB USES
Please look at category 8 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [VERB] V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V adv/prep
If someone lives in a particular place or with a particular person, their home is in that place or with that person.
She has lived here for 10 years...
She always said I ought to live alone...
Where do you live?...
He still lives with his parents.
2 [VERB] V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V n
If you say that someone lives in particular circumstances or that they live a particular kind of life, you mean that they are in those circumstances or that they have that kind of life.
We lived quite grandly...
Compared to people living only a few generations ago, we have greater opportunities to have a good time...
We can start living a normal life again now.
3 [VERB] V for n
If you say that someone lives for a particular thing, you mean that it is the most important thing in their life.
He lived for his work.
4 [VERB] V adv, V to-inf, V to n, V-ing
To live means to be alive. If someone lives to a particular age, they stay alive until they are that age.
He's got a terrible disease and will not live long...
He lived to be 103...
Matilda was born in northern Italy in 1046 and apparently lived to a ripe old age...
The blue whale is the largest living thing on the planet...
5 [VERB] no cont, V by -ing/n, V by -ing/n
If people live by doing a particular activity, they get the money, food, or clothing they need by doing that activity.
...the last indigenous people to live by hunting...
These crimes were committed largely by professional criminals who lived by crime.
6 [VERB] V by n
If you live by a particular rule, belief, or ideal, you behave in the way in which it says you should behave.
They live by the principle that we are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we want from it.
7
see also living
8
to live hand to mouth: see hand
to live beyond your means: see means
to live in sin: see sin♦ live2 /l'aɪv/ (live) ADJECTIVE USES
1 [ADJ] ADJ n
Live animals or plants are alive, rather than being dead or artificial.
...a protest against the company's tests on live animals.
...baskets of live chickens.
≠ dead
2 [ADJ]
A live television or radio programme is one in which an event or performance is broadcast at exactly the same time as it happens, rather than being recorded first.
Murray was a guest on a live radio show.
...we were laughing and gossiping, oblivious to the fact that we were on live TV...
A broadcast of the speech was heard in San Francisco, but it is not known if this was live.
[ADV] ADV after v
Live is also an adverb.
It was broadcast live in 50 countries...
We'll be going live to Nottingham later in this bulletin.
3 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live performance is given in front of an audience, rather than being recorded and then broadcast or shown in a film.
The Rainbow has not hosted live music since the end of 1981...
A live audience will pose the questions...
The band was forced to cancel a string of live dates.
[ADV] ADV after v
Live is also an adverb.
Kat Bjelland has been playing live with her new band.
4 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live recording is a recording of a band playing at a concert, rather than in a studio.
This is my favourite live album of all time...
5 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live wire or piece of electrical equipment is directly connected to a source of electricity.
The plug broke, exposing live wires...
He warned others about the live electric cables as they climbed to safety.
6 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
Live bullets are made of metal, rather than rubber or plastic, and are intended to kill people rather than injure them.
They trained in the jungle using live ammunition.
7 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live bomb or missile is one which has not yet exploded.
A live bomb had earlier been defused.
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you are unable to live down a mistake, failure, or bad reputation, you are unable to make people forget about it.
Labour was also unable to live down its reputation as the party of high taxes...
I thought I'd never live it down.live off
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you live off another person, you rely on them to provide you with money.
...a man who all his life had lived off his father.live on
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If someone lives on, they continue to be alive for a long time after a particular point in time or after a particular event.
I know my life has been cut short by this terrible virus but Daniel will live on after me.live on
or live off
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P amount, V P amount
If you live on or live off a particular amount of money, you have that amount of money to buy things.
Even with efficient budgeting, most students are unable to live on £4000 per year...
You'll have enough to live on...
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If you live on or live off a particular source of income, that is where you get the money that you need.
The proportion of Americans living on welfare rose...
He's been living off state benefits.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If an animal lives on or lives off a particular food, this is the kind of food that it eats.
The fish live on the plankton...
Most species live off aquatic snails.
4 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If you say that a person lives on or lives off a particular kind of food, you mean that it seems to be the only thing that they eat, for example because they like it a lot or because they do not have other foods.
The children live on chips...
Their room was bare of furniture and they lived off porridge.live out
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you live out your life in a particular place or in particular circumstances, you stay in that place or in those circumstances until the end of your life or until the end of a particular period of your life.
Gein did not stand trial but lived out his days in a mental asylum...
I couldn't live my life out on tour like he does.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you live out a dream or idea, you do the things that you have thought about.
He began living out his rock `n' roll fantasy during his last year in law school...
I suppose some people create an idea of who they want to be, and then they live it out.live through
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you live through an unpleasant event or change, you experience it and survive.
We are too young to have lived through the war...live together
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If two people are not married but live in the same house and have a sexual relationship, you can say that they live together.
The couple had been living together for 16 years.live up to
[PHRASAL VERB] V P P n
If someone or something lives up to what they were expected to be, they are as good as they were expected to be.
Sales have not lived up to expectations this year...live wire /l'aɪv w'aɪ'ər/ (live wires)
[N-COUNT]
If you describe someone as a live wire, you mean that they are lively and energetic. (INFORMAL)♦♦♦ live1 /l'ɪv/ (live lives living lived) VERB USES
Please look at category 8 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [VERB] V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V adv/prep
If someone lives in a particular place or with a particular person, their home is in that place or with that person.
She has lived here for 10 years...
She always said I ought to live alone...
Where do you live?...
He still lives with his parents.
2 [VERB] V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V n
If you say that someone lives in particular circumstances or that they live a particular kind of life, you mean that they are in those circumstances or that they have that kind of life.
We lived quite grandly...
Compared to people living only a few generations ago, we have greater opportunities to have a good time...
We can start living a normal life again now.
3 [VERB] V for n
If you say that someone lives for a particular thing, you mean that it is the most important thing in their life.
He lived for his work.
4 [VERB] V adv, V to-inf, V to n, V-ing
To live means to be alive. If someone lives to a particular age, they stay alive until they are that age.
He's got a terrible disease and will not live long...
He lived to be 103...
Matilda was born in northern Italy in 1046 and apparently lived to a ripe old age...
The blue whale is the largest living thing on the planet...
5 [VERB] no cont, V by -ing/n, V by -ing/n
If people live by doing a particular activity, they get the money, food, or clothing they need by doing that activity.
...the last indigenous people to live by hunting...
These crimes were committed largely by professional criminals who lived by crime.
6 [VERB] V by n
If you live by a particular rule, belief, or ideal, you behave in the way in which it says you should behave.
They live by the principle that we are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we want from it.
7
see also living
8
to live hand to mouth: see hand
to live beyond your means: see means
to live in sin: see sin♦ live2 /l'aɪv/ (live) ADJECTIVE USES
1 [ADJ] ADJ n
Live animals or plants are alive, rather than being dead or artificial.
...a protest against the company's tests on live animals.
...baskets of live chickens.
≠ dead
2 [ADJ]
A live television or radio programme is one in which an event or performance is broadcast at exactly the same time as it happens, rather than being recorded first.
Murray was a guest on a live radio show.
...we were laughing and gossiping, oblivious to the fact that we were on live TV...
A broadcast of the speech was heard in San Francisco, but it is not known if this was live.
[ADV] ADV after v
Live is also an adverb.
It was broadcast live in 50 countries...
We'll be going live to Nottingham later in this bulletin.
3 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live performance is given in front of an audience, rather than being recorded and then broadcast or shown in a film.
The Rainbow has not hosted live music since the end of 1981...
A live audience will pose the questions...
The band was forced to cancel a string of live dates.
[ADV] ADV after v
Live is also an adverb.
Kat Bjelland has been playing live with her new band.
4 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live recording is a recording of a band playing at a concert, rather than in a studio.
This is my favourite live album of all time...
5 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live wire or piece of electrical equipment is directly connected to a source of electricity.
The plug broke, exposing live wires...
He warned others about the live electric cables as they climbed to safety.
6 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
Live bullets are made of metal, rather than rubber or plastic, and are intended to kill people rather than injure them.
They trained in the jungle using live ammunition.
7 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A live bomb or missile is one which has not yet exploded.
A live bomb had earlier been defused.