live Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of
    dwell; inhabit; populate.
    • People lived in Africa millions of years ago
    • The people inhabited the islands that are now deserted
    • this kind of fish dwells near the bottom of the ocean
    • deer are populating the woods
  2. verb lead a certain kind of life; live in a certain style
    • we had to live frugally after the war
  3. verb continue to live through hardship or adversity
    live on; last; hold up; endure; hold out; go; survive.
    • We went without water and food for 3 days
    • These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America
    • The race car driver lived through several very serious accidents
    • how long can a person last without food and water?
  4. verb support oneself
    survive; exist; subsist.
    • he could barely exist on such a low wage
    • Can you live on $2000 a month in New York City?
    • Many people in the world have to subsist on $1 a day
  5. verb have life, be alive
    be.
    • Our great leader is no more
    • My grandfather lived until the end of war
  6. verb have firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations
    know; experience.
    • I know the feeling!
    • have you ever known hunger?
    • I have lived a kind of hell when I was a drug addict
    • The holocaust survivors have lived a nightmare
    • I lived through two divorces
  7. verb pursue a positive and satisfying existence
    • You must accept yourself and others if you really want to live
  8. adjective actually being performed at the time of hearing or viewing
    unrecorded.
    • a live television program
    • brought to you live from Lincoln Center
    • live entertainment involves performers actually in the physical presence of a live audience
  9. adjective exerting force or containing energy
    • live coals
    • tossed a live cigarette out the window
    • got a shock from a live wire
    • live ore is unmined ore
    • a live bomb
    • a live ball is one in play
  10. adjective possessing life
    alive.
    • the happiest person alive
    • the nerve is alive
    • doctors are working hard to keep him alive
    • burned alive
    • a live canary
  11. adjective satellite highly reverberant
    • a live concert hall
  12. adjective satellite charged with an explosive
    • live ammunition
    • a live bomb
  13. adjective satellite elastic; rebounds readily
    resilient; bouncy; springy; lively.
    • clean bouncy hair
    • a lively tennis ball
    • as resilient as seasoned hickory
    • springy turf
  14. adjective satellite abounding with life and energy
    • the club members are a really live bunch
  15. adjective satellite in current use or ready for use
    • live copy is ready to be set in type or already set but not yet proofread
  16. adjective satellite of current relevance
    • a live issue
    • still a live option
  17. adjective satellite charged or energized with electricity
    hot.
    • a hot wire
    • a live wire
  18. adjective satellite capable of erupting
    alive.
    • a live volcano
    • the volcano is very much alive
  19. adverb not recorded
    • the opera was broadcast live

WordNet

Live intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. liven, livien, AS. libban, lifian; akin to OS. libbian, D. leven, G. leben, OHG. lebn, Dan. leve, Sw. lefva, Icel. lifa to live, to be left, to remain, Goth. liban to live; akin to E. leave to forsake, and life, Gr. to persist, oily, shining, sleek, fat, lard, Skr. lip to anoint, smear; -- the first sense prob. was, to cleave to, stick to; hence, to remain, stay; and hence, to live.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Lived ; present participle & verbal noun Living
Definitions
  1. To be alive; to have life; to have, as an animal or a plant, the capacity of assimilating matter as food, and to be dependent on such assimilation for a continuance of existence; as, animals and plants that live to a great age are long in reaching maturity.
    Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will . . . lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live. Ezek. xxxvii. 5, 6.
  2. To pass one's time; to pass life or time in a certain manner, as to habits, conduct, or circumstances; as, to live in ease or affluence; to live happily or usefully.
    O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions! Ecclus. xli. 1.
  3. To make one's abiding place or home; to abide; to dwell; to reside.
    Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. Gen. xlvii. 28.
  4. To be or continue in existence; to exist; to remain; to be permanent; to last; -- said of inanimate objects, ideas, etc.
    Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues We write in water. Shak.
  5. To enjoy or make the most of life; to be in a state of happiness.
    What greater curse could envious fortune give Than just to die when I began to live? Dryden.
  6. To feed; to subsist; to be nourished or supported; -- with on; as, horses live on grass and grain.
  7. To have a spiritual existence; to be quickened, nourished, and actuated by divine influence or faith.
    The just shall live by faith. Gal. iii. ll.
  8. To be maintained in life; to acquire a livelihood; to subsist; -- with on or by; as, to live on spoils.
    Those who live by labor. Sir W. Temple.
  9. To outlast danger; to float; -- said of a ship, boat, etc.; as, no ship could live in such a storm.
    A strong mast that lived upon the sea. Shak.
Live transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually; as, to live an idle or a useful life.
  2. To act habitually in conformity with; to practice.
    To live the Gospel. Foxe.
Live adjective
Etymology
Abbreviated from alive. See Alive, Life.
Definitions
  1. Having life; alive; living; not dead.
    If one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it. Ex. xxi. 35.
  2. Being in a state of ignition; burning; having active properties; as, a live coal; live embers. " The live ether." Thomson.
  3. Full of earnestness; active; wide awake; glowing; as, a live man, or orator.
  4. Vivid; bright. " The live carnation." Thomson.
  5. (Engin.) Imparting power; having motion; as, the live spindle of a lathe.
  6. (Elec.) connected to a voltage source, as a live wire.
  7. (Broadcasting) being transmitted instantaneously, as events occur, in contrast to recorded.
  8. (Sport) still in active play -- as a live ball.
  9. pertaingin to an entertainment event which was performed (and possibly recorded) in front of an audience; contrasted to performances recorded in a studio without an audience live wire (a) (Elec.) a wire connected to a power source, having a voltage potential; -- used esp. of a power line with a high potential relative to ground, capable of harming a person who touches it. (b) [MW10] (Fig.) "an alert, active, or aggressive person."
Live noun
Definitions
  1. Life. Obs. Chaucer. Chaucer.

Webster 1913