What does "live" mean?
To be alive; to have life.
Live
/lɪv/ adj, adv, verb, slang
adj, adv, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To be alive; to have life.
- Grammar: live is listed as adj, adv, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: dwell, exist, inhabit, last.
- Useful contrasts: animated, blank, broadcast.
- Usage evidence: I can't live that kind of life.
How to use "live"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "live" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "live" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "live" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "live" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "live" is acting as adj, adv, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dwell" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "live", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To be alive; to have life. intransitive
"He's not expected to live for more than a few months."
- 2 have firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations wordnet
- 3 To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside. intransitive
"I live at 2a Acacia Avenue. At that time I'd been living in a camper for about six months."
- 4 have life, be alive wordnet
- 5 To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside.; (of an object) to have its proper place; to normally be stored. informal, intransitive
"I washed your gravy boat. Where does it live?"
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 lead a certain kind of life; live in a certain style wordnet
- 7 To survive; to persevere; to continue. intransitive
"When Lazarus left his charnel-cave, And home to Mary’s house return’d, […] ‘Where wert thou, brother, those four days?’ There lives no record of reply, Which telling what it is to die Had surely added praise to praise."
- 8 pursue a positive and satisfying existence wordnet
- 9 To endure in memory; to escape oblivion. intransitive
"Her memory lives in that song."
- 10 support oneself wordnet
- 11 To cope. excessive, intransitive
"You'll just have to live with it! I can't live in a world without you."
- 12 continue to live and avoid dying wordnet
- 13 To pass life in a specified manner. intransitive
"It is difficult to live in poverty. And they lived happily ever after."
- 14 be an inhabitant of or reside in wordnet
- 15 To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually. transitive
"To live an idle or a useful life."
- 16 To act habitually in conformity with; to practice; to exemplify in one's way of life. transitive
"to live the Gospel"
- 17 To live as; to live being. obsolete, transitive
"at leaſt admit vs libertie, Euen as thou hopſt to be eternized, By liuing Aſias mightie Emperour."
- 18 To outlast danger; (of a ship or boat) to float. intransitive
"That rockslide trapped me in a cave, and I was trapped for three days, but I lived."
- 19 To maintain or support one's existence; to provide for oneself; to feed; to subsist. intransitive
"It is hard to live on the minimum wage. They lived on stale bread. Man shall not live by bread alone."
- 20 To make the most of life; to experience a full, rich life. informal, intransitive
"I'm sick of spending every day studying at home: I want to go out there and live!"
Adjective
- 1 Having life; that is alive. attributive
"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.
"Because the vaccinia virus is live, it is important to follow care instructions for the vaccination site."
- 4 Operational; in actual use rather than in testing etc.
- 5 Operational; in actual use rather than in testing etc.; Of an object or value: that may potentially be used in the future execution of a program.
"An object in the heap is live if its address is held in a root, or there is a pointer to it held in another live heap node."
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 Taken from a living animal.
"live feathers"
- 7 Imparting power; having motion.
"the live spindle of a lathe"
- 8 Still in active play.
"a live ball"
- 9 Of a card: not yet dealt or played.
"As a beginner, when you are in a hand, you should practice counting your outs, or those live cards left in the deck that can improve your hand."
- 10 Being broadcast ("on the air"), as it happens.
"The station presented a live news program every evening."
- 11 In person.
"This nightclub has a live band on weekends."
- 12 Recorded from a performance in front of an audience.
"a live album"
- 13 Able to fire or explode (of firearms or explosives).
"The air force practices dropping live bombs on the uninhabited island."
- 14 Of an environment where sound is recorded: having noticeable reverberation.
"A good experiment is to have a friend stand in a fixed position in a moderately live room and talk in a clear voice."
- 15 Electrically charged or energized, usually indicating that the item may cause electrocution if touched.
"Use caution when working near live wires."
- 16 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."
- 17 Featuring humans; not animated, in the phrases “live actors” or “live action”.
- 18 Being in a state of ignition; burning.
"a live coal; live embers"
- 19 Vivid; bright. obsolete
"the live carnation"
- 20 Energetic, attentive, active. dated, slang
"a live man, or orator"
- 21 Outstanding, top-notch, exhilarating. slang
"The party was live, and the music was jammin. All over the beach people in colorful swimsuits were moving to the beat."
- 22 Of a syllable in languages such as Thai and Burmese: resonating, not ending abruptly.
Adjective
- 1 capable of erupting wordnet
- 2 possessing life wordnet
- 3 exerting force or containing energy wordnet
- 4 charged or energized with electricity wordnet
- 5 of current relevance wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 in current use or ready for use wordnet
- 7 abounding with life and energy wordnet
- 8 elastic; rebounds readily wordnet
- 9 actually being performed at the time of hearing or viewing wordnet
- 10 charged with an explosive wordnet
- 11 highly reverberant wordnet
Adverb
- 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."
Adverb
- 1 not recorded wordnet
Example
"I can't live that kind of life."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "live"?
Common synonyms include: dwell, exist, inhabit, last, survive, abide.
How do you use "live" in a sentence?
I can't live that kind of life.
How do you pronounce "live"?
Pronounced /lɪv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lefe, lifen, libbe, libben, live, luvien, lyven, from Old English libban, lifian (“to live; be alive”), from Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną (“to live”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick”). Cognates Cognate with Yola live (“to live”), North Frisian laawe, lawe, lewe, lewi, lewwe, lääwe (“to live”), Saterland Frisian lieuwje, líeuwje (“to live”), West Frisian libje (“to live”), Alemannic German lëëbe (“to live”), Cimbrian and Mòcheno lem (“to live”), Dutch leeven, leven (“to live”), German leben (“to live”), German Low German lęven (“to live”), Limburgish leve, léëve (“to live”), Luxembourgish liewen (“to live”), Vilamovian łaowa (“to live”), Yiddish לעבן (lebn, “to live”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål leve (“to live”), Faroese liva (“to live”), Icelandic lifa (“to live”), Norwegian Nynorsk leva, leve, liva (“to live”), Swedish leva (“to live”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban, “to live”); also Latin lippus (“half-sighted, myopic”), Greek λίπος (lípos, “fat, tallow”), Lithuanian lipti (“to stick”), Bulgarian лепя́ (lepjá, “to glue, paste, stick; to plaster, smear”), Czech lepit (“to glue, stick”), Macedonian лепи (lepi, “to glue, stick”), Polish lepić (“to mold; to glue, paste; to stick”), Russian лепи́ть (lepítʹ, “to fashion, sculpt, shape”), Serbo-Croatian лепити, лије́пити, lépiti, lijépiti (“to glue, paste; to stick”), Slovak lepiť (“to stick”), Slovene lepiti (“to stick”), Ukrainian ліпити (lipyty, “to mould, shape”), Sanskrit लिप् (lip, “to anoint, smear; to defile, soil, taint”), रिप् (rip, “deceit, fraud; injury; enemy, traitor”).
Etymology 2
An apheretic form of alive.