See Also: live-in(dictionary)
live(1)(dictionary)
live(2)(dictionary)
live oak(encyclopedia)
Live Aid(dictionary)
Live(medicine)
Radio 5 Live(dictionary)
live 1, verb(dictionary)
live 2, adjective(dictionary)
live 3, adverb(dictionary)

live(1) (iou)



live adjective. M16.
[Aphet. from ALIVE, repl. earlier LIVES adjective.]
a. That is alive; living, as opp. to dead. Chiefly attrib. M16.
P. Theroux We had got used to Father looking like a live scarecrow.
b. Actual, genuine; not pretended or pictured or toy. Chiefly in a real live. Usu. joc. L19.
c. Corresponding to actual facts. E20.
d. Of a performance etc.: heard or watched at the time of its occurrence, as opp. to recorded on film, tape, etc.; given in front of a public audience as opp. to in a recording studio etc. Also, (of a recording, a film, etc.) made of a live performance. M20.
A. Road Recording..can never be quite as nail-biting as live transmission. Guardian No doubt the video is not quite the same as watching the race live.
Of a coal, embers, etc.: flaming, glowing. E17.
Z. Tomin There must be a live lump of coal somewhere, burning itself out.
transf. & fig. Full of life or active power; busy, lively; alert, energetic. Also, (of a question, an issue, etc.) of current interest, not obsolete or exhausted. M17.
M. Arnold All the live murmur of a Summer's day. Sun (Baltimore) Another live issuethe question of setting up a..buffer zone in Korea.
(Of a mineral or rock) still forming part of the earth's mass, unwrought; (of air) in its native state, pure. M17.
Containing unexpended energy; (of a shell) unexploded; (of a match) unkindled. L18.
b. Electricity. (Of a rail, wire, etc.) connected to a source of electrical power, carrying a voltage; (of a microphone etc.) switched on, receptive to sound. L19.
Of a machine part or piece of apparatus, esp. an axle: that moves or imparts movement. E19.
Acoustics. Of a room or enclosure: having a relatively long reverberation time. Cf. DEAD adjective 15. M20.
Special collocations & comb.: live action Cinematography action involving real people or animals, as opp. to animation, titles, etc. live bait Angling a living worm, small fish, etc., used as bait. livebearer any of numerous small, chiefly freshwater, American fishes of the family Poeciliidae, members of which (including the guppies, swordtail, mollies, and platies) have internal fertilization and give birth to live young. live-bearing adjective bearing live young, not laying eggs; viviparous. live-birth: in which the child is born alive. live-born adjective born alive. live fence (orig. US) a hedge. live load a temporary or varying load on a structure, esp. the weight of people or goods in a building or vehicle (cf. dead load s.v. DEAD adjective). live oak: of the evergreen species Quercus virginiana, of the southern US. live steam: from a boiler at full pressure. livestock animals kept or dealt in for use or profit. live weight the weight of an animal before it has been slaughtered and prepared as a carcass. live wire fig. an energetic or forceful person.
liveness noun L19.