live

Less common meanings

13. 13
    verbcolloquialintransitive

    Of an object, to have its usual place, or be kept somewhere.

    The tools live in the shed.

    The cat's bowl lives by the back door.

    UsageCommon in Where does this live?, asked while putting things away.

    Similarbelong, go (entry), sit, stay

    Note

    Residence lent to things: a gravy boat, the scissors and the spare keys are spoken of as if each had a home. It grows straight out of the "reside" meaning and stays casual. Its natural setting is the kitchen question Where does it live?, asked while putting something away. Formal writing says a thing is kept or stored. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The object-storage sense extends the residence sense; Wiktionary places it as a subsense of that meaning. en.wiktionary.org
14. 14
    verbcolloquialintransitive

    To get out and taste fully what life offers.

    She finally feels like she's living.

    Get out there and live.

    UsageCommon in live a little and start living.

    Similarthrive, flourish

    Oppositeexist, stagnate

15. 15
    real actorsadjective

    In film and television, performed by real people rather than drawn or computer-animated, chiefly before action or actors.

    The sequel mixes live actors with animated characters in almost every scene.

    Unlike the cartoon it was based on, the new movie uses live actors in every role.

    UsageMostly in live action, hyphenated before a noun: a live-action remake.

    Oppositeanimated

    Note

    A film and television term held in two fixed phrases, live action and live actors. Both mean real people on camera rather than drawings or animation. It contrasts with animated, not with recorded, which keeps it apart from the broadcasting meaning.

16. 16
    charged wireadjective

    Of a wire, terminal, or circuit, connected to a source of electricity and so dangerous to touch, whether or not current is flowing.

    The electrician checked whether the fuse box was live.

    A live wire lay across the wet road.

    UsageCommon in a live wire and the wire is live.

    Similarenergized, charged, hot, electrified

    Oppositedead

    Note

    The electrician's warning word. A live wire or socket is energized, whether or not current is flowing, and may electrocute whoever touches it. Its natural home is safety instructions and signs: use caution when working near live wires. Before touching anything, the practical question is simply whether the circuit is live. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Live means energized: connected to a source of electrical potential or electrically charged. Current need not be flowing. osha.gov
    • Touching a live conductor can cause electrocution. stacks.cdc.gov
    • Whether a circuit is live must be established before touching exposed electrical parts. osha.gov
17. 17
    real ammunitionadjective

    Of ammunition or explosives, real and ready to detonate, not blanks or dummies.

    The movie set used blanks, never live rounds.

    Bomb disposal treated the device as live.

    UsageCommon in live ammunition, live rounds and a live grenade.

    Similararmed, real, active

    Oppositeblank, inert

18. 18
    adjective

    Of issues, options, and examples, actual and existing here and now rather than imagined or past.

    Independence remains a live question there.

    Several live options are still on the table.

    UsageMostly a live issue, a live question or a live possibility.

    Similarcurrent, topical, pressing, burning, open

    Oppositedead

19. 19
    adjectiveslang

    Of a party, crowd, or scene, outstanding, exhilarating, and full of energy; used after a verb.

    The crowd was live from the first song.

    Friday nights there are always live.

    Similarbuzzing, electric, lit, wild, jumping

    Oppositedead, dull, boring

    Note

    Slang praise for a party, a crowd or a night out. Kimberly S. Phillips writes in 1998 that "the party was live, and the music was jammin." It normally comes after the verb, which sets it apart from the attributive "alive" adjective. Keep it to casual talk about events and atmosphere; outside dialogue, written English reads it as slang.

20. 20
    adjective

    Of viruses, cultures, yeast, or chemicals, active and retaining working properties; not killed, spent, or inactivated.

    The lab handles only live samples.

    Is the culture still live?

    UsageCommon in a live vaccine, live yeast and live cultures.

    Similaractive, viable

    Oppositedead, inactive

    Note

    Here the adjective can follow the verb: because the vaccinia virus is live, the vaccination site needs care. The plain "alive" adjective stays before its noun, but this sense works in both positions, as in a live vaccine or the culture is live. It is the lab's word for what still works, as against something killed or inactivated. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Live vaccinia virus at the vaccination site makes site care necessary. cdc.gov
21. 21
    turning (machines)adjective

    In engineering, of a shaft, spindle, or axle, driven and turning, carrying power to the work or the wheels.

    The rear axle is live, the front one dead.

    Only the live roller is powered.

    Similardriven, powered

    Oppositedead

    Note

    An engineer's word for the part that turns and drives. The live spindle of a lathe is the one under power, and a live axle is simply a driving one: in a vehicle, the axle that moves the wheels. The contrast is with a dead part, which carries no power of its own. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A live spindle on a lathe is powered and rotates. hurco.com
    • A live vehicle axle drives the wheels. en.wikipedia.org
    • The contrasting dead component does not itself transmit driving power. gm0.org
22. 22
    burningadjective

    Of coals, embers, or a cigarette end, burning or glowing and able to start a fire.

    She raked the live coals together.

    One live spark is enough in this wind.

    Similarburning, glowing, alight, lit

    Oppositedead, extinguished, cold

    Note

    Fire is the life here: a live coal or live embers still glow and can catch again. The image lends itself to figurative use. Irvin S. Cobb, writing in 1916 about Latin as a dead language, calls its speakers "the live boys," meaning the sharp, quick ones. In literal use the word stays with coals, embers and sparks. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The quotation is attributed to Irvin S. Cobb in a work published in 1916. en.wiktionary.org
    • Cobb discusses Latin as a dead language and calls its speakers "the live boys," praising their verbal sharpness. en.wiktionary.org
23. 23
    ball in playadjective

    In sports, of a ball or a play, still in action under the rules, not yet dead or whistled: the fumble is live, the play stays live until the referee stops it.

    The fumble was live, and anyone could recover it.

    The players stopped, thinking the play was over, but the ball was still live and the other team scored.

    Oppositedead

    Note

    Games decide by rule whether a ball is alive or dead. A live ball is still in play, and anything can happen until the play is ruled over. The same idea carries over to the table in the card still to come, where a card stays live until it has been dealt or played. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Sports rules determine whether a ball is in play or dead. static.www.nfl.com
24. 24
    adjective

    In card games, of a card, still undealt and unplayed, so that it may yet come.

    If the ace is live, the draw is worth the call.

    Three live hearts remained.

    Oppositedead

    Note

    Poker talk uses it most. A player counts outs, which Alison Pendergast, writing for beginners in 2005, describes as the live cards left in the deck that can still improve the hand. A card that has already been dealt or played no longer counts. Knowing which cards remain live is the arithmetic behind every draw. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Alison Pendergast wrote a beginner's poker guide first published in 2005. informit.com
    • Pendergast describes outs as live cards remaining in the deck that can improve the hand. en.wiktionary.org
    • Cards already dealt or played are unavailable as future draws. pokerstars.com
25. 25
    plucked feathersadjective

    Of feathers or down, plucked from a bird that was alive at the time rather than gathered at slaughter.
26. 26
    echoingadjective

    In audio, of a room or space, reverberant, reflecting sound so that it rings on.

    They hung curtains to make the studio less live.

    Drums sound huge in a live room.

    Similarreverberant, resonant, echoey

    Oppositedead, dry

    Note

    A sound engineer's term for a room that rings with reflections. It is gradable: audio handbooks speak of a moderately live room and a fairly live room, and the comparative is more live. Engineers choose the degree on purpose. One 2016 edition describes instruments recorded in a fairly live room with reverb added on top. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • An audio handbook uses the expression 'moderately live room'. proaudioencyclopedia.com
    • An audio handbook describes instruments recorded in a fairly live room with added reverb. en.wiktionary.org
    • Engineers deliberately adjust a recording room's degree of reverberance. recordingmag.com
    • Under the required first-publication convention, Jason Corey's Audio Production and Critical Listening: Technical Ear Training dates from 2010. The cited 2016 text is a later edition; identify it explicitly as an edition. shop.elsevier.com
27. 27
    verbtransitive

    To act consistently in keeping with a belief, value, or practice, so that one's way of life shows it.

    Leaders who preach honesty have to live it, or no one will believe them.

    For forty years the couple lived their faith quietly, through service rather than sermons.

    UsageCommon in live your values and live your beliefs.

    Similarpractice, embody

    Note

    A transitive use with a long religious past: John Foxe's Actes and Monuments (1563) speaks of living the Gospel, putting belief into daily conduct. Modern management writing has borrowed the construction freely, so people now live their values, live the brand or live the habits they teach. Unlike living a quiet life or living a lie, where the object is the life itself, the object here is a principle, and the verb claims that conduct matches it. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • John Foxe wrote Actes and Monuments, first published in 1563. en.wikipedia.org
28. 28
    verbobsolete

    To spend one's life as a particular kind of person, as in she lived and died a pauper.

    at leaſt admit vs libertie, Euen as thou hopſt to be eternized, By liuing Aſias mightie Emperour.

    c. 1587, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part
29. 29
    adjective

    In programming, of a variable or value, still possibly needed by code that has yet to run.
30. 30
    adjective

    In poker, of a bet such as a blind or a straddle, leaving the player who posted it free to raise when action returns.
31. 31
    adjectiveobsolete

    Bright and vivid in color.
32. 32
    adjectivedated

    Lively, alert, and full of energy.

    Now then, Bill, I've recommended to the troop that they take you in, and the fellows have all voted in favor of you. These scouts are a live bunch and they all expect you to make good.

    1915, “In the Scout Cave”, in Boys' Life
33. 33
    adjective

    In Thai, Burmese and similar languages, of a syllable ending in a sound that can be prolonged, such as a long vowel or a nasal, rather than stopping sharply.