Meaning & use
living
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Alive now, not dead.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: a living creature; the living relatives.
Patterns
- a living thing
- living creatures
Plants are living things that need light.
She has no living relatives in this country.
The aquarium keeps living coral in its tanks.
nounsingular
The money or means a person gets from their work to pay for life's needs.
Grammar: Usually a living: earn a living, make a living.
Patterns
- earn a living
- make a living from something
He makes a living by repairing bikes.
What do you do for a living?
She earns a good living as a translator.
noununcountable
The way of life or conditions in which people live.
Grammar: Often in compounds: healthy living, city living.
Patterns
- living in a place
- a standard of living
City living can be noisy and expensive.
Healthy living starts with good sleep.
The cost of living has gone up again.
adjectivebefore a nounfigurative
Still active, in use, or remembered, as a language or tradition.
Grammar: Used figuratively for things still in use: a living language.
Patterns
- a living language
- a living tradition
Welsh is a living language with many speakers.
The festival is a living tradition in the village.
The museum offers a living history of the town.
Common combinations
- earn a living
- She earns a living as a nurse.
- cost of living
- The cost of living is rising.
- standard of living
- A good standard of living is the goal.
- living room
- We watched TV in the living room.
- living conditions
- Living conditions at the camp improved.
- living wage
- Workers asked for a living wage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- alive
- Alive is used after a verb (the bird is alive), while living usually comes before a noun.
- livelihood
- Livelihood is a formal word for the means of earning a living and sounds more serious than a living.
- existing
- Existing means present at the moment, without suggesting life.
- live
- Live as an adjective is used mostly for broadcasts and animals that are alive, as in live music.
Opposites
Word family
- live verb
- to be alive or have a home
- alive adjective
- not dead
- lively adjective
- full of energy
- livelihood noun
- a means of earning money
- liver noun
- one who lives in a certain way
Commonly confused: living or lively? living or alive?
living vs lively
Lively means full of energy, while living means alive or the way someone earns money.
living vs alive
Alive follows a verb: The fish is alive; living precedes a noun: a living fish.
Practice
What does she do for a ___?
Choose one answer.
For a living is the fixed phrase meaning as a job. The other forms do not fit after 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “living”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.