live¹ /liv/

1. To have, or continue in, life, temporal, spiritual, or figurative, to be alive
2. To enjoy life
3. To lead one's life in a certain way, eg live well, loosely, etc
4. To be supported, subsist, get a living
5. To survive, remain alive, escape death
6. To continue, last, escape destruction or oblivion
7. To reside or dwell

1. To spend or pass
2. To act in conformity to
3. To express (eg a set of principles, a creed, etc) by one's life, make one's life the same thing as

livabilˈity or liveabilˈity noun

livˈable or liveˈable adjective

1. Worth living, capable of being lived
2. (usu followed by in) habitable
3. (usu followed by with or in) such as one could endure to live with or in, bearable

livˈer noun

livedˈ-in adjective

1. (of a room, etc) homely with the signs of habitation
2. (of a face) marked by life's experiences

liveˈ-inˈ adjective

1. (of an employee) living at the place of work
2. (of a sexual partner) sharing the same dwelling

live a lie

To conduct one's life in such a way as to deny or conceal some essential circumstance or aspect of one's character, usu shameful

live and breathe

To be passionately enthusiastic about

live and learn

To keep learning new and surprising things

live and let live

To give and expect toleration or forbearance

live by

To order one's life according to (a principle, etc)

live down

Eventually to rehabilitate oneself in people's eyes after (a failure, mistake, etc)

live for

1. To attach great importance to
2. To make (something) the chief concern of one's life
3. To look forward longingly to

live in

To reside at one's place of employment

live it up

1. To go on a spree
2. To cram one's life with excitement and pleasure

live off

1. To be financially supported by
2. To feed oneself exclusively on (particular foods)

live on

1. To live by feeding upon, or with expenditure limited to
2. To continue or last

live on air (facetious)

To have no apparent means of sustenance

live out

1. To live (one's life) entirely in a particular way or place
2. To survive
3. To fulfil (eg the destiny reserved for one)
4. (of someone in domestic service) to live away from the workplace (US)
5. (of eg a hotel worker, hospital doctor, etc) to live away from one's place of employment
6. (of a student) to have accommodation outside the college or university campus

live out of (informal)

To depend on the limited range of eg food offered by (tins) or clothes contained in (a suitcase)

live through

To experience at first hand and survive (esp an unpleasant event)

live to

To live long enough to, come at last to

live together

To cohabit

live under (archaic)

To be tenant to

live up to

1. To behave in a manner worthy of
2. To fulfil or satisfy (expectations, a promise, etc)

live well

To live luxuriously

live with

1. To cohabit with
2. To accept and adapt to as an inescapable part of one's life

the living theatre

The live theatre

live² /līv/

1. Having life
2. Alive, not dead
3. (of a volcano) active, not extinct
4. Stirring
5. In operation or motion
6. Current, applicable, relevant
7. Unquarried or unwrought
8. Charged with energy (eg from electricity, explosives or other chemicals, etc) and still capable of discharge
9. Burning
10. Vivid
11. Of the theatre, etc, concerned with living performance as distinct from filming, broadcasting or televising
12. (of a broadcast) made directly from the actual event, not from a recording
13. (of a musical recording, video, etc) made during a concert performance
14. (of yoghurt) containing live bacteria
15. Fully operational (computing)
16. A fishmonger's word for very fresh

At, during, or as a live performance

-lived /-līvd or sometimes -livd/ combining form

Denoting having life (eg long-lived)

livˈen transitive verb

To enliven

To become lively

livˈener noun

live axle noun

Driving axle

live bait noun

A living animal as bait

liveˈbearer noun

A fish that gives birth to live young

liveˈ-bearing adjective

live birth noun

Birth in a living condition, opp to stillbirth

liveˈblog intransitive verb

To blog about an event while it is taking place

A blog in which an event is described as it is taking place

liveˈ-born adjective

liveˈ-box noun

1. A glass box for examining living objects under the microscope
2. A box for live fish

live cartridge noun

One containing a bullet, as opposed to a blank or a spent cartridge

live cell therapy noun

The use of specially prepared animal tissue to stimulate regeneration of diseased or damaged human tissue or cells (also called cellular therapy)

live centre noun

A rotating centre in the tailstock of a lathe, turning with the workpiece

live circuit noun

A circuit through which an electric current is flowing

liveˈ-feathˈers plural noun

Those plucked from the living fowl

live load noun

A moving weight or variable force on a structure

live oak noun

An American evergreen oak, with durable wood

liveˈ-rail noun

One carrying electric current (see also live wire below)

live shell noun

A shell still capable of exploding

live steam noun

Steam at full pressure, direct from a boiler

liveˈstock noun

1. Domestic animals, esp horses, cattle, sheep and pigs
2. Domestic or body vermin (slang)

liveˈstream transitive verb

To broadcast (an event) on the Internet as it happens

liveˈware noun (comput sl)

All the people working with a computer system, personnel as distinct from hardware or software

live weight noun

Weight of living animals

liveˈ-well noun

The well in a fishing-boat where fish are kept alive

live wire noun

1. A wire charged with an electric current
2. A person of intense energy or alertness (figurative)

• old-maidishly
• old-maidism
• old maids
• old man
• Old Man of the Mountain
• old man of the sea
• old man's beard
• old master
• old masters
• old men
• old money
• old-money
• old moon
• old moustache
• oldness
• oldnesses
• Old Nick
• Old Norse
• Old One
• Old Poker
• Old Pretender
• Old Prussian
• Old Red Sandstone
• old rose
• old roses