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to live

to live

1.0
To continue to be alive
  • verb
  • /lɪv/
translation icon : vivir
  • Or would you choose to live forever if you could?
  • live longer
  • live forever
  • live with HIV/AIDS

So they're just wanting their church members to live longer.

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Examples

  • Ham proved that mankind could live and work in space.

  • Many animals can live in extreme conditions, such as the deep sea.

  • You must step up to live life on your own terms.

  • No, no, no, I am going to live forever.

  • I live as I want to live.

  • I think she's trying to live day by day.

  • The intervention means that most sufferers are able to live at home for longer.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I want to live!

  • Women in today's society are living longer, with an average lifespan of 80 years.

    Academic text (2011)
  • He struggled to live in a way that made him happy despite the challenges.

Synonyms

to last
vsto live
1.0

To continue for a period of time

is about being alive or existing rather than focusing on duration
to survive
vsto live
2.7

Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event

is the general being alive, not only after danger or disaster
to exist
vsto live
345 1.9

To manage to live with very little money or food

is the broader idea of being alive, not only managing scarce resources
to endure
vsto live
304 3.5

To deal with something difficult for a long time without giving up

is about being alive or continuing to exist rather than bearing hardship
to breathe
vsto live
  • Literature
228 7.4

To be alive

is the common neutral verb used in everyday speech
to live on
vsto live
38 3.2

To continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult time

is the general condition of being alive, not only surviving hardship
to subsist
vsto live
11 7.2

Manage to live with very little food or money

is the general state of being alive rather than just minimal survival
to liveth
vsto live
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An old word form people use with he, she, or it to say someone is alive

is the modern, standard form used in ordinary speech

Antonyms

1.0

To stop living and no longer be alive

to perish
  • Formal
121 6.0

To die suddenly or violently, often in large numbers

Idioms

to live a lie
  • Informal
22 7.2

To hide the truth about yourself by pretending something else is true

16 4.2

To have the life you always wanted after hard work

11 7.4

Lead a life full of risk and excitement by doing dangerous things

9 4.8

To be very excited about something and always make it a main part of life

8 8.4

A couple who live together and have sex without being married, often seen as wrong by some people

To have a happy, full life and treat others well

5 8.2

Have a very comfortable life with lots of money

4 8.0

Not knowing things most people know

3 7.2

To depend completely on a belief or rule

To be less known or important because someone else is more famous

To live very simply and avoid extra comforts

People who use violence are likely to die violently

To stay constantly in someone's thoughts and annoy them

7.5

A shout showing support and wishing the king a long life

the live one
  • Informal
8.6

A person who makes others laugh and enjoy themselves

Phrasal Verbs

563 3.9

To accept something unpleasant that you cannot change

230 2.7

To share a home with a romantic partner without being married

224 3.5

To meet what people expect of you

194 3.7

To stay and sleep where you work, usually in your employer's house

77 3.9

Rely on someone, a job, or savings for the food and money you need

61 3.2

To survive by using a certain food or money

38 3.2

To continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult time

34 3.7

To spend the rest of your life in a place or way you want

to live it up
  • Informal
27 7.2

Enjoy yourself in a lively, often expensive way at parties or restaurants

To keep thinking about the past and miss what is happening now

Act, sing, or play in front of people right then, not from a recording

to live large
  • Informal
9 8.2

Enjoy yourself by spending a lot on expensive things and fun

to live out
  • Jargon
7 3.9

To work in someone's home and return to your own home each day

4 7.7

Make people forget or forgive a past mistake over time

To stay in a very small dirty house that has few comforts

1 8.6

A thought that stays in your mind and bothers you

3.0

Send a program as it happens on radio or TV

To feel comfort by remembering happy times from the past

Continue without knowing what will happen next

Compounds

28 1.6

Music played in front of people, not from a recording

real live
  • Informal
25 3.9

Present in person and not imaginary

live birth
  • Specialized
9 3.5

A baby born showing any sign of life

7 6.0

A large tree with green leaves all year that grows in the southern United States

2 3.4

A person or animal that is not dead

live wire
  • Informal
2 4.6

A person who is very lively and full of energy

live wire
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A wire that is carrying electric current and is dangerous to touch

1 2.3

Musicians play jazz music for people at a place not from a recording

live steam
  • Specialized
1 7.9

Steam at full pressure from a boiler used to run engines or machines

A medium-sized evergreen oak tree with leathery spiny-edged leaves that grows in dry canyons in southwestern US and northwestern Mexico

California live oak
  • Specialized
8.2

An evergreen oak tree with small, thick, spiny dark green leaves that grows on the coast of California

coast live oak
  • Specialized
8.3

A short bushy evergreen tree that grows along the west coast of North America with small thick spiny leaves

live axle
  • Specialized
6.5

A bar under a vehicle that sends engine power to the wheels

live load
  • Specialized
6.1

A weight on a structure that changes, like people or vehicles

live-and-die
  • Australian
9.9

A small bush from the tropics whose leaves fold when touched and that has sharp thorns

A small brightly colored fish that gives birth to young that can swim when born

A small hardy plant with thick leaves that forms low clusters and small purple and white flowers

interior live oak
  • Specialized
9.3

An evergreen tree with thick leaves that grows in dry hills of western North America

A music show you go to in person

A medicine taken by mouth that contains three weakened live polio viruses to protect against polio

An evergreen tree from the southern United States with wide, spreading branches and very hard wood

How Alive

to thrive
241 3.2
to live
1.0
to survive
2.7
to perish
  • Formal
121 6.0

Surface Forms

live infinitive
lived past
lived past participle
living present participle
lives third person singular

Etymology

Live comes from an old English word life meaning 'life'. To live is simply to have 'life' or to continue to exist, which is the basic meaning of the verb.