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Webster 1913 Edition

Live

Live

(lĭv)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Lived
(lĭvd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Living
.]
[OE.
liven
,
livien
, AS.
libban
,
lifian
; akin to OS.
libbian
, D.
leven
, G.
leben
, OHG.
lebēn
, Dan.
leve
, Sw.
lefva
, Icel.
lifa
to live, to be left, to remain, Goth.
liban
to live; akin to E.
leave
to forsake, and
life
, Gr.
λιπαρεῖν
to persist,
λιπαρόσ
oily, shining, sleek,
λίποσ
fat, lard, Skr.
lip
to anoint, smear; – the first sense prob. was, to cleave to, stick to; hence, to remain, stay; and hence, to live.]
1.
To be alive; to have life; to have, as an animal or a plant, the capacity of assimilating matter as food, and to be dependent on such assimilation for a continuance of existence;
as, animals and plants that
live
to a great age are long in reaching maturity
.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will . . . lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall
live
.
Ezek. xxxvii. 5, 6.
2.
To pass one’s time; to pass life or time in a certain manner, as to habits, conduct, or circumstances;
as, to
live
in ease or affluence; to
live
happily or usefully.
O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that
liveth
at rest in his possessions!
Ecclus. xli. 1.
3.
To make one's abiding place or home; to abide; to dwell; to reside;
as, to
live
in a cottage by the sea
.
Jacob
lived
in the land of Egypt seventeen years.
Gen. xlvii. 28.
4.
To be or continue in existence; to exist; to remain; to be permanent; to last; – said of inanimate objects, ideas, etc.
Men's evil manners
live
in brass; their virtues
We write in water.
Shakespeare
5.
To enjoy or make the most of life; to be in a state of happiness;
as, people want not just to exist, but to
live
.
What greater curse could envious fortune give
Than just to die when I began to
live
?
Dryden.
6.
To feed; to subsist; to be nourished or supported; – with on;
as, horses
live
on grass and grain
.
7.
To have a spiritual existence; to be quickened, nourished, and actuated by divine influence or faith.
The just shall
live
by faith.
Gal. iii. ll.
8.
To be maintained in life; to acquire a livelihood; to subsist; – with on or by;
as, to
live
on spoils
.
Those who
live
by labor.
Sir W. Temple.
9.
To outlast danger; to float; – said of a ship, boat, etc.;
as, no ship could
live
in such a storm
.
A strong mast that
lived
upon the sea.
Shakespeare
To live out
,
to be at service; to live away from home as a servant.
[U. S.]
–
To live with
.
(a)
To dwell or to be a lodger with.
(b)
To cohabit with; to have intercourse with, as male with female.

Live

(lĭv)
,
Verb.
T.
1.
To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually;
as, to
live
an idle or a useful life
.
2.
To act habitually in conformity with; to practice.
To
live
the Gospel.
Foxe.
To live down
,
to live so as to subdue or refute; as, to live down slander.

Live

(līv)
,
Adj.
[Abbreviated from
alive
. See
Alive
,
Life
.]
1.
Having life; alive; living; not dead.
If one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the
live
ox, and divide the money of it.
Ex. xxi. 35.
2.
Being in a state of ignition; burning; having active properties;
as, a
live
coal;
live
embers.
“ The live ether.”
Thomson.
3.
Full of earnestness; active; wide awake; glowing;
as, a
live
man, or orator
.
4.
Vivid; bright.
“ The live carnation.”
Thomson.
5.
(Engin.)
Imparting power; having motion;
as, the
live
spindle of a lathe;
live
steam
.

Live

(līv)
,
Noun.
Life.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
On live
,
in life; alive.
[Obs.]
See
Alive
.
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Live

LIVE

,
Verb.
I.
liv.
1.
To abide; to dwell; to have settled residence in any place. Where do you live? I live in London. He lives in Philadelphia. He lives in a large house on Second street. The Swiss live on mountains. The Bedouin Arabs live in the dessert.
2.
To continue; to be permanent; not to perish.
Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water.
3.
To be animated; to have the vital principle; to have the bodily functions in operation, or in a capacity to operate, as respiration, circulation of blood, secretions, &c.; applied to animals.
I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? Gen. 45.
4.
To have the principles of vegetable life; to be in a state in which the organs do or may perform their functions in the circulation of sap and in growth; applied to plants. This tree will not live, unless watered; it will not live through the winter.
5.
To pass life or time in a particular manner, with regard to habits or condition. In what manner does your son live? Does he live according to the dictates of reason and the precepts of religion?
If we act by several broken views, we shall live and die in misery.
6.
To continue in life. The way to live long is to be temperate.
7.
To live, emphatically; to enjoy life; to be in a state of happiness.
What greater curse could envious fortune give, than just to die, when I began to live?
8.
To feed; to subsist; to be nourished and supported in life; as, horses live on grass or grain; fowls live on seeds or insects; some kinds of fish live on others; carnivorous animals live on flesh.
9.
To subsist; to be maintained in life; to be supported. Many of the clergy are obliged to live on small salaries. All men in health may live by industry with economy, yet some men live by robbery.
10.
To remain undestroyed; to float; not to sink or founder. It must be a good ship that lives at sea in a hurricane.
Nor can our shaken vessels live at sea.
11.
To exist; to have being.
As I live, saith the Lord - Ezek. 18.
12.
In Scripture, to be exempt from death, temporal or spiritual.
Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. Lev. 18.
13.
To recover from sickness; to have life prolonged.
Thy son liveth. John 4.
14.
To be inwardly quickened, nourished and actuated by divine influence or faith. Gal. 2.
15.
To be greatly refreshed, comforted and animated.
For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. 1Thess. 3.
16.
To appear as in life or reality; to be manifest in real character.
And all the writer lives in every line.
1.
To live with, to dwell or to be a lodger with.
2.
To cohabit; to have intercourse, as male and female.

LIVE

,
Verb.
T.
liv.
1.
To continue in constantly or habitually; as, to live a life of ease.
2.
To act habitually in conformity to.
It is not enough to say prayers, unless they live them too.

LIVE

, a.
1.
Having life; having respiration and other organic functions in operation, or in a capacity to operate; not dead; as a live ox.
2.
Having vegetable life; as a live plant.
3.
Containing fire; ignited; not extinct; as a live coal.
4.
Vivid, as color.

Definition 2024

Live

Live

See also: live

Norwegian

Proper noun

Live

  1. A female given name, a variant of Liv.

live

live

See also: Live

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: lĭv, IPA(key): /lɪv/
  • Rhymes: -ɪv

Verb

live ‎(third-person singular simple present lives, present participle living, simple past and past participle lived)

  1. (intransitive) To be alive; to have life.
    He's not expected to live for more than a few months.‎
  2. (intransitive) To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside.
    I live at 2a Acacia Avenue.  He lives in LA, but he's staying here over the summer.‎
    • 1893, Walter Besant, The Ivory Gate, Prologue:
      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.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      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.
  3. (intransitive) To survive; to persevere; to continue.
    Her memory lives in that song.‎
  4. (intransitive, hyperbolic) To cope.
    You'll just have to live with it!  I can't live in a world without you.‎
  5. (intransitive) To pass life in a specified manner.
    It is difficult to live in poverty.   And they lived happily ever after.‎
  6. (transitive) To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually.
    To live an idle or a useful life.‎
    • 1921, Juanita Helm Floyd, Women in the Life of Balzac:
      Many people write their romances, others live them; Honore de Balzac did both.
    • 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:
      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.
    • 2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 11:
      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.
  7. (transitive) To act habitually in conformity with; to practice.
    • John Foxe (1516/7-1587)
      to live the Gospel
    • 2006, Laura Cardone, Motivation at Work:
      Change happens from the inside out and this great resource can show you how to live the habits that build personal and professional effectiveness.
  8. (intransitive) To outlast danger; to float (said of a ship, boat, etc).
    No ship could live in such a storm.‎
  9. (intransitive, followed by "on" or "upon") To maintain or support one's existence; to provide for oneself; to feed; to subsist.
    It is hard to live on the minimum wage.   They lived on stale bread.‎
  10. (intransitive, 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!‎

Usage notes

Throughout Late Middle English and Early Modern English in Midlands and Northern dialects, the present participle form livand co-occurs with the form living with the last recorded mention occurring in 1817.

Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

See alive

Pronunciation

  • enPR: līv, IPA(key): /laɪv/
  • Rhymes: -aɪv

Adjective

live ‎(not comparable)

  1. (only used attributively) 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.
  4. Operational; being in actual use rather than in testing.
  5. (engineering) Imparting power; having motion.
    the live spindle of a lathe
  6. (sports) Still in active play.
    a live ball
  7. (broadcasting) Seen or heard from a broadcast, as it happens.
    The station presented a live news program every evening.
  8. Of a performance or speech, in person.
    This nightclub has a live band on weekends.
  9. Of a recorded performance, made in front of an audience, or not having been edited after recording.
  10. Of firearms or explosives, capable of causing harm.
    The air force practices dropping live bombs on the uninhabited island.
  11. (circuitry) Electrically charged or energized, usually indicating that the item may cause electrocution if touched.
    Use caution when working near live wires.
  12. (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.
  13. Featuring humans; not animated, in the phrases “live actors” or “live action”.
  14. Being in a state of ignition; burning.
    a live coal; live embers
  15. (obsolete) Full of earnestness; active; wide awake; glowing.
    a live man, or orator
  16. (obsolete) Vivid; bright.
    • Thomson
      the live carnation
Usage notes
  • Live in the sense of "having life" is used only attributively (before a noun), as in "live animals". Predicatively (after the noun), alive is used, as in "be alive". Living may be used either attributively or predicatively.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Compounds
Translations

Adverb

live ‎(comparative more live, superlative most live)

  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.
Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: French · family · earth · #406: live · hard · ask · question

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology 1

Verbal form of the noun liv ‎(“life”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /liːvə/, [ˈliːwə]

Verb

live ‎(imperative liv, infinitive at live, present tense liver, past tense livede, perfect tense har livet)

  1. enliven
Usage notes

Used with op ‎(“up”): live op

Etymology 2

Borrowing from English live [1965].

Adverb

live

  1. live (as it happens)
Synonyms

Esperanto

Adverb

live ‎(lative liven)

  1. (neologism) on the left

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related terms

Finnish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈliʋeˣ/
  • Hyphenation: li‧ve

Noun

live

  1. (dialectal) lye
Declension
Inflection of live (Kotus type 48/hame, p-v gradation)
nominative live lipeet
genitive lipeen lipeiden
lipeitten
partitive livettä lipeitä
illative lipeeseen lipeisiin
lipeihin
singular plural
nominative live lipeet
accusative nom. live lipeet
gen. lipeen
genitive lipeen lipeiden
lipeitten
partitive livettä lipeitä
inessive lipeessä lipeissä
elative lipeestä lipeistä
illative lipeeseen lipeisiin
lipeihin
adessive lipeellä lipeillä
ablative lipeeltä lipeiltä
allative lipeelle lipeille
essive lipeenä lipeinä
translative lipeeksi lipeiksi
instructive — lipein
abessive lipeettä lipeittä
comitative — lipeineen
Synonyms

Etymology 2

From English live.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈliʋe/
  • Hyphenation: li‧ve

Adjective

live ‎(not comparable)

  1. (nonstandard) live
Usage notes
  • Chiefly used as modifier in compound terms:
    live-esitys
    live performance
  • Almost always used in essive singular when used independently:
    He esiintyvät tänään livenä areenalla.
    They will perform live today at the arena.

Synonyms

Anagrams

German

Adverb

live

  1. (of an event) live (as it happens; in real time; direct)

Italian

Adjective

live ‎(invariable)

  1. Performed or recorded live

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

līvē

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of līveō

Etymology

From Middle English liven, from Old English libban, lifian ‎(“to live”), from Proto-Germanic *libjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‎(“leave, cling, linger”). Cognate with West Frisian libje, Old Saxon libbian, (German Low German lęven ‎(“to live”)), Dutch leven, Old High German lebēn (German leben), Old Norse lifa (Swedish leva), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 ‎(liban).

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