I. ˈliv verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English liven, from Old English libban, lifian; akin to Old High German lebēn to live, Old Norse lifa, Gothic liban, Latin cae lebs unmarried
intransitive verb
1. : to be alive : have the life of an animal or plant
the child lived and grew
2. : to continue alive
the longer I live , I find the folly and the fraud of mankind grow more and more intolerable — Tobias Smollett
lived to a ripe and vigorous old age
had nine children of whom only five lived
3. : to maintain oneself : feed , subsist
lived on peanut-butter sandwiches and milk, but was very contented — Current Biography
a man must always live by his work — Adam Smith
many of our customers lived on high inventories — Monsanto Chemical Co. Annual Report
lived on his relatives
lived by his wits
4. : to conduct, direct, or pass one's life
had religiously lived up to that standard — C.L.Jones
I lived and cared only for science — Harrison Brown
5. : to occupy a home : dwell , reside
lives in the suburbs
the houses in which they lived, the ceremonies of their courts, he cannot accurately figure to himself — Matthew Arnold
6. : to attain eternal life or beatitude
I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live — Jn 11:25 (Revised Standard Version)
7. : to survive oblivion : remain in human memory or record
though you die in combat gory, ye shall live in song and story — W.S.Gilbert
and yet the past lives in us all — W.R.Inge
the desire of man to live on through his deeds, characteristic of the erection of pyramids — John Dewey
8. : to flourish in human life or consciousness : retain effect, existence, or vigor
his name cannot die while courage and honor live among men
9. : to outlast storm or danger : remain afloat or operative — used of a ship or airplane
the 20 to 25 Jap torpedo planes managed to live long enough to launch four torpedoes — Ira Wolfert
10. : to realize the possibilities of life amply : attain fulfillment or satisfaction
the boy who is mentally awake lives more in a day than a dull boy does in a month — Boy Scout Handbook
I smile when I find people cheerfully talking of “happiness” as something to be desired in life. I have lived — Havelock Ellis
11. : cohabit
for 18 months she had lived with that Canadian colonel — Fred Majdalany
transitive verb
1. : to pass through or spend the duration of
we do not live out our lives unattended by divinity — American Scholar
lived an unforgettable hour that seemed a lifetime
2. : enact , practice
what other men were preaching, he lived — P.E.More
images and ideas which can be lived and defended — Stephen Spender
3. : to exhibit vigor, gusto, or enthusiasm in
seized life with both hands and lived every minute of it — H.W.Glover
Synonyms: see reside
•
- live it up
- live up to
II. ˈlīv adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: short for alive
1. : having life : living
she purged a live eel — Robert Burton
ships live cattle
2. : abounding with life : vital , vivid
the portrait is … always live and spirited — Times Literary Supplement
a live appreciation of the role of cultural forces in history — L.A.White
he saw an oldening, flaccid face with live eyes — Maurice Walsh
3. : exerting force or containing energy: as
a. : afire , glowing
tossed a live cigarette from the car
b. : connected to electric power
a thousand-volt wire, live and burning with its power — Adria Langley
c. : charged with explosives and containing shot or a bullet
a live shell
a live cartridge
live ammunition
also : undischarged , unexploded
a live bomb
d. : imparting or driven by power : having motion
the live center of a lathe
live conveyor rolls
e. : charged with fissionable material
the pile was built up … with alternating layers of live and dead blocks — L.R.Hafstad
4. : living in thought or controversy : of continuing interest : open to debate : not settled or decided : unclosed
long-standing denominational disputes still were live issues — Oscar Handlin
5. : being in a pure native state: as
a. of a mineral : native , virgin
b. of rock : unwrought , unquarried
6.
a. : of bright vivid color
b. : of normal brightness or luster — used of timber and lumber
7. : highly reverberant — used of a room or enclosed space in which sound is produced; compare anechoic , dead 10
8.
a. of a playing card : available for play because still in the hands or stock
b. : being in play
a live ball
9. of rubber : springy , resilient
10.
a. : not yet printed from or plated : to be held for possible further or future printing — used of a printing surface
b. : not yet typeset ; also : typeset but not yet proofread
c. : used for storing or holding live matter
11.
a. : of or relating to a performance done without mechanical reproduction by phonograph or cinema : presented directly by musicians or actors in concert hall or theater or on radio or television : not recorded or filmed
b. : present and responsive — used of a radio or television studio audience
III. ˈlīv adverb
: at the actual time of occurrence : during or at a live performance
the sessions were carried live in their entirety by the public television station — Peter Binzen