live and learn Definition

live¹
verb, intr in all senses except 7 and 9 lived, living

1. To have life.
2. To be alive.

Thesaurus: exist, breathe, draw breath.
3. To continue to be alive.

Thesaurus: abide, endure, last.
4. To survive or to escape death.
5. To have a home or dwelling.

Example: We live in a small flat
6. To lead one's life in a certain way.

Example: live well
7. To pass or spend.

Example: live a happy life in the country
8. To enjoy life passionately or to the full.

Example: They really know how to live
9. To express (one's beliefs, etc) in one's life; to live in accordance with (one's beliefs, etc).

Example: live one's religion

Idiom: live and breathe something

colloq
To be very enthusiastic about it.
Example: lives and breathes football

Idiom: live and learn

colloq
To learn by experience.

Idiom: live beyond one's means

colloq
To spend more than one can really afford. Compare live within one's means below.

Idiom: live and let live

colloq
To be tolerant of others and expect toleration in return.

Idiom: live by one's wits

See under wit.

Derivative: lived-in

See separate entry.

Idiom: live for the moment

colloq
To live without thinking of the future.

Idiom: live from hand to mouth

See under hand.

Idiom: live in an ivory tower

colloq
Often said of academics: to be shut off from reality.

Idiom: live it up

colloq
To fill one's life with excitement and pleasure, often excessively.

Idiom: live on borrowed time

colloq
To live longer than might have been expected.

Idiom: live out of a suitcase

colloq
To live in different places for very short spells, never having time to unpack.

Idiom: live through something

To undergo (an unpleasant experience).

Idiom: live within one's means

colloq
To spend no more than one can afford.

Idiom: live with oneself

Note: with negatives and in questions
To maintain one's self-respect.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon lifian and libban.

Phrasal Verb: live by something

To get a living from it.
Example: live by farming
To order one's life according to (certain principles).
Example: lived by the teachings of Christ

Phrasal Verb: live something down

Said after someone has made (a mistake or blunder): to carry on living until something in the past has been forgotten or forgiven in the eyes of other people.
Example: He lived down the shame of his arrest

Phrasal Verb: live for someone or something

To make them or it one's main concern.
Example: She lives for the children
To look forward to it.

Phrasal Verb: live in

To live in accommodation supplied at one's workplace.

Phrasal Verb: live off someone or something

To be supported by them or it.
Example: live off the land

Phrasal Verb: live on

To continue or last.
Example: Memories live on

Phrasal Verb: live on something

To have a diet that mainly consists of (one kind of food).
Example: live on rice

Phrasal Verb: live with someone

Usually said where a sexual relationship is implied: to share accommodation with them.
Example: He lives with his girlfriend

Phrasal Verb: live with something

To continue to suffer from or be haunted by the memory of it.
Example: will live with the mistake for the rest of his life
To put up with it.
Example: He has to live with psoriasis

Phrasal Verb: live together

Said of a couple, especially one in a sexual relationship: to share the same home.

Phrasal Verb: live up to someone or something

To become as respected as them.
Example: could never live up to his brother
To turn out in a manner worthy of them or it.
Example: tried to live up to her parents' expectations