live

I VERB USES

♦

lives, living, lived

(Pronounced [[t]lɪ̱v[/t]] in live 1, and [[t]la͟ɪv[/t]] in live 2.)

1) VERB If someone lives in a particular place or with a particular person, their home is in that place or with that person.

[V adv/prep] She has lived here for 10 years...

[V adv/prep] She always said I ought to live alone...

[V adv/prep] Where do you live?...

[V adv/prep] He still lives with his parents.

2) VERB 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.

[V adv/prep] We lived quite grandly...

[V adv/prep] Compared to people living only a few generations ago, we have greater opportunities to have a good time...

[V n] We can start living a normal life again now.

[V-ing] ...the local support group for people living with HIV and AIDS.

3) VERB If you say that someone lives for a particular thing, you mean that it is the most important thing in their life.

[V for n] He lived for his work.

4) VERB To live means to be alive. If someone lives to a particular age, they stay alive until they are that age.

[V adv] He's got a terrible disease and will not live long...

[V adv] A perennial is a plant that lives indefinitely...

[V to-inf] He lived to be 103...

[V to-inf] My father died nigh on ten years ago, but he lived to see his first grandson...

[V to n] Matilda was born in northern Italy in 1046 and apparently lived to a ripe old age...

[V-ing] The blue whale is the largest living thing on the planet...

[V-ing] Ian was her only living relative.

5) VERB: no cont If people live by doing a particular activity, they get the money, food, or clothing they need by doing that activity.

[V by -ing/n] ...the last indigenous people to live by hunting...

[V by -ing/n] These crimes were committed largely by professional criminals who lived by crime.

6) VERB If you live by a particular rule, belief, or ideal, you behave in the way in which it says you should behave.

[V by n] 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) VERB: no cont If a person or occasion lives in someone's mind or in history, they are remembered for a long time.

[V with n] The memory of that will live with me for many years to come...

[V in n] His name will live in history as one of the greatest bowlers of all time...

PHRASAL VERB

Live on means the same as live.

Also V P V P in n Lenin lives on in the minds and hearts of millions of people.

8) → See also living

9) PHRASE: Vs inflect, PHR n (emphasis) If you say that someone lives and breathes a particular subject or activity, you are emphasizing that they are extremely enthusiastic about it.

He has lived and breathed polo since he was seven.

10) PHRASE: have inflects, usu PHR with cl If you tell someone that they haven't lived unless they experience a particular thing, you are telling them that thing is extremely good and should be experienced.

If you have never been to an opera, you haven't lived...

You haven't lived until you've used their new micro system.

11) PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR of -ing/n You can use expressions such as to live in fear and to live in terror to indicate that someone is always thinking about an unpleasant or frightening event, because they think that it might happen.

One in 10 Californians is unemployed and thousands more live in fear of losing their jobs.

12) CONVENTION You say live and let live as a way of saying that you should let other people behave in the way that they want to and not criticize them for behaving differently from you.

13) PHRASE: V inflects If you live it up, you have a very enjoyable and exciting time, for example by going to lots of parties or going out drinking with friends. [INFORMAL]

There is no reason why you couldn't live it up once in a while.

14) to live hand to mouth → see hand

to live a lie → see lie

to live beyond your means → see means

to live in sin → see sin

Phrasal Verbs:

- live down

- live off

- live on

- live off

- live on

- live out

- live through

- live together

- live up to

II ADJECTIVE USES

♦♦♦

(Pronounced [[t]lɪ̱v[/t]] in live 1, and [[t]la͟ɪv[/t]] in live 2.)

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.

Ant:

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...

They watch all the live matches...

A broadcast of the speech was heard in San Francisco, but it is not known if this was live.

Ant:

pre-recorded

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.

Ant:

recorded

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...

The LP features live recordings from the `Great Xpectations' all-day show.

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.

8) PHRASE: V inflects If a system, campaign, or other course of action goes live, it starts to be used. [mainly BRIT]

The new system went live earlier this year...

The service should go live this summer.

9) PHRASE: PHR n You use real live to say that someone or something is present or exists, when you want to indicate that you think this is exciting and unusual or unexpected. [INFORMAL]

He had never met a real live admiral...

She has the best pet of all - a real live tiger.