Word

live

Q: What does "live" mean?

1. (to be alive) to be alive and have life. 2. (to have a home) to have your permanent home in a particular place. 3. (broadcast as it happens) broadcast on TV, radio, or the internet at the same time it is happening. 4. (performing in person) performing in front of an audience rather than on a recording. 5. (carrying electricity) connected to a source of electricity and dangerous to touch. 6. (not animated) using real people instead of drawings or computer images. 7. (happening now) at the same time as an event is happening.

Q: Is it correct to say "I am living in London since three years."?

No — say "I have lived in London for three years.". Use the present perfect with 'for' or 'since' to describe a period of time starting in the past and continuing now.

/ˈɫaɪv/

01to be alive

A1 · Beginner

v. to be alive and have life.

v. to have life; to be in a state of biological existence.

“Some species of desert plants can live for over a hundred years.”

“Biologists are still discovering organisms that live in extreme conditions near volcanic vents on the ocean floor.”

Synonyms

existbe alive

Antonyms

die perish

02to have a home

A1 · Beginner

v. to have your permanent home in a particular place.

v. to reside or inhabit a specific location permanently or for a significant duration.

“I live in a small apartment near the city centre.”

“After years of moving between different cities, she finally decided to live in a quiet coastal village.”

Pitfall

I am living in London since three years.

I have lived in London for three years.

Use the present perfect with 'for' or 'since' to describe a period of time starting in the past and continuing now.

Synonyms

reside dwell inhabit

03broadcast as it happens

A2 · Elementary

adj. broadcast on TV, radio, or the internet at the same time it is happening.

adj. broadcast in real time; not pre-recorded.

“The news reporter is giving a live update from the scene of the accident.”

“The network decided to air a live broadcast of the debate to ensure viewers received the information without any editorial delays.”

Synonyms

real-timedirect

Antonyms

recorded taped

04performing in person

A2 · Elementary Music

adj. performing in front of an audience rather than on a recording.

adj. performed in person before an audience; relating to a performance that is not a studio recording.

“I prefer listening to live music because the atmosphere is much better.”

“The band's live performance was far more energetic than their polished studio albums had suggested.”

Synonyms

in-persononstage

Antonyms

studio recorded

05carrying electricity

B2 · Upper Intermediate Engineering Technical

adj. connected to a source of electricity and dangerous to touch.

adj. electrically charged or energized; capable of delivering a shock if contacted.

“Be careful not to touch that live wire while you are fixing the lamp.”

“The electrician used a voltage tester to confirm whether the circuit was still live before beginning the repairs.”

Synonyms

charged energized active

Antonyms

dead neutral

06not animated

B1 · Intermediate Film

adj. using real people instead of drawings or computer images.

adj. featuring human actors rather than being animated or computer-generated.

“The studio is making a live-action version of the classic cartoon.”

“Critics debated whether the live-action remake could capture the whimsical charm of the original hand-drawn animation.”

Synonyms

real-life

Antonyms

animated cartoon

07happening now

B1 · Intermediate

adv. at the same time as an event is happening.

adv. in a live manner; during the actual occurrence of an event.

“The match is being shown live on Channel 4 tonight.”

“The space agency streamed the rocket launch live to millions of viewers across the globe.”

Synonyms

in real time

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “live” in context.

Adjective

01. short live

“The butterfly has a very short life, often living for only a few weeks.”

adj + noun

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”).

An apheretic form of alive.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

live(B1)

NOUN

ADJECTIVE