live

LIV/lɪv/

As an adjective or adverbLYV

Formslives, living, lived

33 meanings of live

Practice

1
have a homeverbintransitive
To have your home in a place, to reside there.
We live on the third floor.
She lived in Rome for a year.
UsageSay live in London, live on the third floor, live with your parents.
Similarreside, dwell, lodge
2
lead a lifeverbintransitive
To spend your life in a certain way, or to have a certain kind of life.
They lived happily for forty years.
You can't live like this forever.
UsageSay how: live well, live simply, live in peace.
3
adjective
Played or done in front of people who are there, not recorded in a studio.
The bar has live music on Fridays.
Nothing beats a live performance.
UsageIt rhymes with five: live music, a live show.
Oppositerecorded, prerecorded
4
be aliveverbintransitive
To be alive, or to stay alive when you might have died.
All plants need water and light to live.
My grandfather lived to ninety-six.
UsageSay live to 100 or as long as I live.
Similarsurvive, exist
Oppositedie
Note
5
adjectivebefore a noun
Alive, used before a noun, as in live animals.
The pet shop sells live fish.
There was a live mouse in the trap.
UsageSay live fish, but the fish are alive.
Oppositedead
Note
6
on air nowadjective
Shown or sent out on TV, radio, or the internet as it is happening.
The match is live on channel seven.
The radio show is live, so people can call in.
UsageSay a show is live or on live TV.
Oppositerecorded, prerecorded
Note
7
adverb
As it happens, at the same time as the event, as in broadcast live.
The ceremony was shown live around the world.
Millions watched the landing live.
UsageSay the game was shown live.
8
get by onverbintransitive
To get the food or money you need to stay alive, as in live on bread.
They lived on rice and beans for a month.
You can't live on fresh air.
UsageSay live on rice or live on a small salary.
Similarsubsist, survive, exist, feed
9
verbintransitive
To go on existing, or to keep being remembered, for a long time.
The old customs still live in the villages.
Some old ideas live much longer than they should.
UsageSay an old custom lives on.
Similarsurvive, endure, persist, last
Oppositedie, vanish
Note
10
verbintransitive
To put up with something you do not like (live with it), or to manage without something (live without it).
I don't like the color, but I can live with it.
He lived with the noise for years.
Similarcope, manage, survive
11
perform in personadverb
In person, in front of an audience, as in appearing live.
The band plays live every Thursday.
She has never sung live before.
UsageSay a band plays live.
12
in real useadjective
In real use, working for real customers rather than being tested.
The new website goes live on Monday.
Don't test on the live database.
UsageSay a website goes live when people can start using it.
Similaroperational, active, online
Oppositeoffline, inactive

Less common meanings

13
verbcolloquialintransitive
Of a thing, to be kept in a certain place, an informal use.
Where does the gravy boat live?
The scissors live in the top drawer.
UsageAsk Where does this live? to mean where is it kept.
Similarbelong, go (entry), sit, stay
Note
14
verbcolloquialintransitive
To really enjoy life, to do exciting things, an informal use.
I want to travel and live a little.
Stop worrying and live!
UsageSay live a little! to tell someone to have more fun.
Similarthrive, flourish
Oppositeexist, stagnate
15
real actorsadjective
In film, using real actors, not animation, as in live action.
The studio is remaking the cartoon with live actors.
Live action and animation share the screen.
UsageSay a live-action movie for one with real actors.
Oppositeanimated
Note
16
charged wireadjective
Of a wire, connected to electricity and able to give you a shock if you touch it.
Don't touch that wire, it's live.
Treat every cable as live until you've tested it.
UsageSay it to rhyme with five: the wire is live, a live wire.
Similarenergized, charged, hot, electrified
Oppositedead
Note
17
real ammunitionadjective
Of a bullet or bomb, real and able to go off, not a blank or a dummy.
The soldiers trained with live ammunition.
A live grenade was found in the attic.
UsageSay live ammunition for real bullets.
Similararmed, real, active
Oppositeblank, inert
18
adjective
Real and present, actually existing, as in a live example.
That's a live possibility, not a fantasy.
The question is still a live one.
UsageSay a live question for one people still argue about.
Similarcurrent, topical, pressing, burning, open
Oppositedead
19
adjectiveslang
Really exciting or excellent, a slang use, as in the party was live.
Last night's party was so live that nobody wanted to go home.
The club gets live after midnight.
Similarbuzzing, electric, lit, wild, jumping
Oppositedead, dull, boring
Note
20
adjective
Still active and able to work or do harm, as in a live virus.
The vaccine contains a live virus.
Live yeast makes the dough rise.
UsageCommon in a live vaccine, live yeast and live cultures.
Similaractive, viable
Oppositedead, inactive
Note
21
turning (machines)adjective
In machines, turning or driving, as in a live axle that carries power.
The lathe's live spindle turns the work.
A live axle drives the wheels.
Similardriven, powered
Oppositedead
Note
22
burningadjective
Still burning or glowing, as in live coals.
Don't leave live embers in the grate.
A live cinder set the barn alight.
Similarburning, glowing, alight, lit
Oppositedead, extinguished, cold
Note
23
ball in playadjective
In sports, still in play, so that the game goes on with it.
The ball was still live when he touched it.
A live ball can be caught for an out.
Oppositedead
Note
24
adjective
In card games, of a card, still in the deck and not yet played.
Count your outs, the live cards that can help you.
Only two of the kings were still live.
Oppositedead
Note
25
plucked feathersadjective
Taken from an animal while it was alive, as in live feathers.
26
echoingadjective
Of a room, echoing, so that sounds ring on after they are made.
The hall is too live for speech.
A tiled bathroom is a very live space.
Similarreverberant, resonant, echoey
Oppositedead, dry
Note
27
verbtransitive
To follow a belief, rule, or idea in the way you act every day.
She doesn't just talk about kindness. She tries to live it every day.
Our coach lives the values he teaches the team.
UsageCommon phrases are live your faith and live your values.
Similarpractice, embody
Note
28
verbobsolete
To spend your life, or part of it, as a certain kind of person.
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
adjective
In programming, of a value that the program may still use later.
30
adjective
In poker, of a bet that still lets the player who made it raise later.
31
adjectiveobsolete
Bright and strong in color.
32
adjectivedated
Full of energy and paying attention.
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
adjective
In Thai, Burmese and similar languages, of a syllable that does not stop short.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of live apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4, 8–10, 13–14, 27

From Old English lifian, libban meaning "to live" or "be alive," going back to Proto-Germanic and an older Proto-Indo-European root.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

The verb derives from Old English lifian and libban. en.wiktionary.org
The Old English forms mean to live or be alive. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry extends through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 3, 5–7, 11–12, 15–26

A shortened form of the word "alive."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

The adjective live is a shortened form of alive. en.wiktionary.org