to live and die by
3
7.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
vivir y morir por
- Without Derrick Rose in the lineup, Chicago is forced to live and die by the jump shot.
- live and die by the numbers
We all deal and live and die by how much Ethereum we have.
- We all deal and live and die by how much Ethereum we have.
- So you're forced to go out and forge your own path and live and die by the decisions that you make.
- And, you know, for my first few months, my focus really was on people because I believe fundamentally that technology companies live and die by talent.
- I said I'm a spectroscopist, so I live and die by these Spectra, which consists of transitions between energy levels.
- So in the widget that we sort of live and die by in Healthcare is sickness.
- I just think it's just so unhealthy to just live and die by a certain doesn't matter what, but just like holding on to every word that someone says.
Examples
-
"We live and die by the oil and gas industry and how it's performing, and our practices are driven by the price of hydrocarbons," says Estes, who was president of the Midland County Bar Association in 1994-1995 and the State Bar of Texas in 2008-2009.
Academic text (2011) -
Try not to live and die by any individual game.
Blog text (11) -
We lived and died by those words.
-
"We live and die by our good name."
Blog text (30) -
And even kings must live and die by it!
-
We live and die by our motto...
-
Startups live and die by cash flow.
Blog text (14) -
So you're forced to go out and forge your own path and live and die by the decisions that you make.
-
In this offense, the frontcourt guys are simply an afterthought much of the time, so it's safe to say Christian's Mountaineers will live and die by the three more often than not.
Blog text (19) -
Successful businesses live and die by their ability to adapt to market trends.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To act according to rules, advice, or beliefs
87
4.7
Continue to follow and support a rule, belief, or person
79
3.9
To follow rules or instructions
1
5.4
Keep doing what you believe is right even when it is hard
Antonyms
How Committed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The element 'live by' is fairly transparent (to follow or be guided by something), so a B1 learner who knows 'live' and 'by' could infer part of the sense. However, the added 'and die by' is a metaphorical intensifier expressing extreme commitment and the precise idiomatic force is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the phrase is only partly transparent.
Etymology
Live and die by gives a clear image: someone lets one rule or idea decide whether they live or die. That's why it now means 'to depend completely on' a belief or rule.