live - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

English[edit]

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live

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Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English lyven, libben, from Old English lifian, libban (“to live; be alive”), from Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“leave, cling, linger”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian líeuwje (“to live”), West Frisian libje (“to live”), Dutch leven (“to live”), German Low German leven, lęven (“to live”), German leben (“to live”), Swedish leva (“to live”), Icelandic lifa (“to live”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban, “to live”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: lĭv, IPA^(key): /lɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪv
• Hyphenation: live

Verb[edit]

live (third-person singular simple present lives, present participle living, simple past and past participle lived)

1. (intransitive) To be alive; to have life.

   He's not expected to live for more than a few months.

2. (intransitive) To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside.

   I live at 2a Acacia Avenue.  He lives in LA, but he's staying here over the summer.

   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate[…], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers,[…], →OCLC, page 16:

     Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

   1. (intransitive, informal) (of an object) to have its proper place; to normally be stored.

      I washed your gravy boat. Where does it live?

3. (intransitive) To survive; to persevere; to continue.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon,[…], →OCLC, Canto XXXI, page 50:

     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.

4. (intransitive) To endure in memory; to escape oblivion.

   Her memory lives in that song.

   • 2017 March 14, Stuart James, “Leicester stun Sevilla to reach last eight after Kasper Schmeichel save”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     He has now overseen three straight victories since taking over from Claudio Ranieri and this latest win, against one of the best teams in Europe, will live long in the memory for every Leicester supporter.

5. (intransitive, hyperbolic) To cope.

   You'll just have to live with it!  I can't live in a world without you.

6. (intransitive) To pass life in a specified manner.

   It is difficult to live in poverty.   And they lived happily ever after.

7. (transitive) To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually.

   To live an idle or a useful life.

   • 1921, Juanita Helm Floyd, Women in the Life of Balzac:

     Many people write their romances, others live them; Honore de Balzac did both.

   • 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:

     By 1980, South Korea had overtaken its northern neighbour, and was well on its way to being one of the Asian tigers – high-performing economies, with democratic movements ultimately winning power in the 1990s. The withdrawal of most Soviet aid in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet empire, pushed North Korea further down. Kim Il-sung had held a genuine place on North Korean people's affections. His son was regarded as a shadowy playboy, with rumours circulating over the years that he imported Russian and Chinese prostitutes, and lived a life of profligacy and excess.

   • 2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 11:

     But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.

8. (transitive) To act habitually in conformity with; to practice; to exemplify in one's way of life.

   • 1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes,[…], London: […] Iohn Day,[…], →OCLC:

     to live the Gospel

   • 2006, Laura Cardone, Motivation at Work‎^[2], →ISBN:

     Change happens from the inside out and this great resource can show you how to live the habits that build personal and professional effectiveness.

   • 2016 March 24, Jon Henley, “The aggressive, outrageous, infuriating (and ingenious) rise of BrewDog”, in The Guardian‎^[3], →ISSN:

     In short, he argues, in the modern era, “The only way to build a brand is to live that brand. You have to live the values and the mission, then let the customer decide.”

9. (transitive, obsolete) To live as; to live being.

   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part[…], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones,[…], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:

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

10. (intransitive) To outlast danger; to float (said of a ship, boat, etc).

    No ship could live in such a storm.

    • c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

      a strong mast that lived upon the sea

11. (intransitive, followed by on, upon, or by) To maintain or support one's existence; to provide for oneself; to feed; to subsist.

    It is hard to live on the minimum wage.   They lived on stale bread.   Man shall not live by bread alone.

12. (intransitive, informal) To make the most of life; to experience a full, rich life.

    I'm sick of spending every day studying at home: I want to go out there and live!

    See Also

    How to Say Farewell to a Colleague: 35 Ways to Say GoodbyeDig It! Slang from the 1950s17 Best British Slang Terms & Their Definitions | Study Abroad EnglandFun

Usage notes[edit]

Throughout Late Middle English and Early Modern English in Midlands and Northern dialects, the present participle form livand co-occurs with the form living.

Synonyms[edit]

• (to have permanent residence somewhere): dwell; See also Thesaurus:reside
• (to survive): go on, last, remain; See also Thesaurus:persist

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

An aphetic form of alive.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: līv; IPA^(key): /laɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪv

Adjective[edit]

live (comparative more live, superlative most live)

1. (only used attributively) Having life; that is alive.

   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.
   1. (programming) Of an object or value: that may potentially be used in the future execution of a program.

      Antonym: dead

      • 1996, Richard Jones, Rafael Lins, Garbage Collection, →ISBN, page 4:

        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.

5. Taken from a living animal.

   live feathers

6. (engineering) Imparting power; having motion.

   the live spindle of a lathe

   a live, or driving, axle

7. (sports) Still in active play.

   a live ball

8. (card games) Of a card: not yet dealt or played.

   • 2005, Alison M. Pendergast, Play Winning Poker in No Time, page 57:

     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.

9. (broadcasting) Being broadcast ("on the air"), as it happens.

   The station presented a live news program every evening.

   Are we live?

10. (of a performance or speech) In person.

    This nightclub has a live band on weekends.

11. (entertainment, performing) Recorded from a performance in front of an audience.

    a live album

12. live, unexploded (of firearms or explosives)

    The air force practices dropping live bombs on the uninhabited island.

13. Of an environment where sound is recorded: having noticeable reverberation.

    • 2002, John Eargle, Chris Foreman, Audio Engineering for Sound Reinforcement, page 21:

      A good experiment is to have a friend stand in a fixed position in a moderately live room and talk in a clear voice.

    • 2016, Jason Corey, Audio Production and Critical Listening: Technical Ear Training, page 136:

      See Also

      Irish goodbye - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

      It sounds like the instruments were recorded in a fairly live room with reverb added.

14. (circuitry) Electrically charged or energized, usually indicating that the item may cause electrocution if touched.

    Use caution when working near live wires.

15. (poker) 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.

16. (film) Featuring humans; not animated, in the phrases “live actors” or “live action”.
17. Being in a state of ignition; burning.

    a live coal; live embers

    • 1916 March 25, Irvin S. Cobb, “"Unaccustomed as I am—"”, in Saturday Evening Post‎^[4]:

      Call it a dead language if you want to—it looks to me like those Latinites were the live boys when it came to putting a whole lot of meaning into just two or three words.

18. (obsolete) Vivid; bright.

    • 1728, James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell,[…], published 1768, →OCLC:

      the live carnation

19. (slang)
    1. (dated) Energetic, attentive, active.

       a live man, or orator

       • 1915, “In the Scout Cave”, in Boys' Life, volume 5, number 3, page 23:

         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.

    2. Outstanding, top-notch, exhilarating.

       • 1998, Kimberly S. Phillips, Purpose Lies Within, Messenger Publishing, →ISBN, page 119:

         The party was live, and the music was jammin. All over the beach people in colorful swimsuits were moving to the beat.

20. (linguistics) Of a syllable in languages such as Thai and Burmese: resonating, not ending abruptly.

    Antonym: dead

Usage notes[edit]

• Live in the sense of "having life" is used only attributively (before a noun), as in "live animals". Predicatively (after the noun), alive is used, as in "be alive". Living may be used either attributively or predicatively.

Synonyms[edit]

• (having life): living, alive; see also Thesaurus:alive
• (being in existence): real
• (electrically charged): hot
• (in person): in person, in the flesh

Antonyms[edit]

• (having life): dead
• (capable of causing harm): blank, dummy
• (electrically charged): neutral, dead
• (as it happens): recorded, prerecorded
• (in person): broadcast
• (featuring humans): animated

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from the adjective live

Translations[edit]

Adverb[edit]

live (comparative more live, superlative most live)

2. Of an event, as it happens; in real time; direct.

   The concert was broadcast live by radio.

4. Of making a performance or speech, in person.

   He'll be appearing live at the auditorium.

Translations[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• “live”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “live”, in The Century Dictionary[…], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams[edit]

• Levi, Viel, evil, veil, vile, vlei

Chinese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English live, possibly via Japanese ライブ (raibu).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Hong Kong Cantonese) IPA^(key): /laːi̯f⁵⁵/

Verb[edit]

live

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Taiwanese Mandarin) to broadcast live; to stream
2. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Internet slang) to reach the end (i.e. the newest posts) on a forum thread

Noun[edit]

live

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Taiwanese Mandarin) live performance; concert　(Classifier: 場／场 m c)
2. (Hong Kong Cantonese) livestream (Classifier: 條／条 c)

Derived terms[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Verbal form of the noun liv (“life”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /liːvə/, [ˈliːʊ̯ə], [ˈliːʊ]

Verb[edit]

live (imperative liv, infinitive at live, present tense liver, past tense livede, perfect tense har livet)

1. enliven

Usage notes[edit]

Used with op (“up”): live op

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from English live First attested in 1965.

Adverb[edit]

live

1. live (as it happens)

Synonyms[edit]

• direkte

Esperanto[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From liva +‎ -e.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [ˈlive]
• Rhymes: -ive
• Hyphenation: li‧ve

Adverb[edit]

live (lative liven)

1. (neologism) on the left

   Synonym: maldekstre

   Antonym: dekstre

Finnish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

lipeä +‎ -e

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈliʋeˣ/, [ˈliʋe̞(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -iʋe
• Syllabification^(key): li‧ve

Noun[edit]

live (dialectal)

1. lye

Declension[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

• lipeä

Further reading[edit]

• “1.live”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[5] (online dictionary, continuously updated, in Finnish), Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-01

Etymology 2[edit]

From English live.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈliʋe/, [ˈliʋe̞]
• Rhymes: -iʋe
• Syllabification^(key): li‧ve

Noun[edit]

live

1. (in compounds) live

Usage notes[edit]

• Chiefly used as modifier in compound terms:

  live-esitys ― live performance

• Almost always used in the essive singular when used independently:

  He esiintyvät tänään livenä areenalla.

  They will perform live today at the arena.

Declension[edit]