Meaning & use
subsistence living
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Meanings
noununcountable
A way of life in which people grow or catch only enough food and goods to keep themselves alive, with almost nothing left to sell.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it takes a singular verb and no plural -s: 'Subsistence living is still common there.'
Patterns
- live by subsistence living
- subsistence living in (a place)
- a subsistence living
For generations the villagers have survived on subsistence living, growing cassava and keeping a few goats.
Development agencies say subsistence living is declining as young people move to the cities for paid work.
After the drought, many families returned to subsistence living because they could no longer sell any surplus.
noununcountabletechnical
The state of having only the bare minimum of money, food, and shelter needed to stay alive.
Grammar: Often appears after 'below' or 'at' to talk about income levels: 'below subsistence living'.
Patterns
- below subsistence living
- at subsistence living level
The report found that a third of the population was living below subsistence living.
Wages in the region are so low that many workers are stuck at subsistence living.
Common combinations
- live by subsistence living
- Her grandparents lived by subsistence living in the mountains for forty years.
- return to subsistence living
- When the factory closed, some families had to return to subsistence living.
- subsistence living level
- Any income below the subsistence living level is considered extreme poverty.
- subsistence living economy
- The island has a subsistence living economy based on fishing and root crops.
- a subsistence living
- They earn a subsistence living from a small plot of land.
Synonyms and how they differ
- subsistence farming
- This is narrower: it refers only to the agricultural activity, while 'subsistence living' covers the whole way of life, including housing and clothing.
- self-sufficiency
- This emphasizes independence from outside help and can apply to rich countries too, so it is less tied to poverty than 'subsistence living'.
Opposites
Word family
- subsist verb
- To stay alive with very little; the base verb behind the phrase.
- subsistence noun
- The state of having only the basics needed to live.
- subsistence farmer noun
- A person who grows food mainly to feed their own family.
Commonly confused: subsistence living or subsistence allowance? subsistence living or sustenance?
subsistence living vs subsistence allowance
This is money paid to someone for basic daily needs, such as during training, not a whole way of life.
subsistence living vs sustenance
This means food and drink that keep you alive; 'subsistence living' describes an entire lifestyle, not just the food itself.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'subsistence living' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Subsistence living' is an uncountable noun phrase meaning a bare-minimum way of life, so it fits 'depend on subsistence living'. Option 1 confuses it with 'subsistence allowance', which is money paid for daily needs. Option 3 treats it as a countable object you can buy. Option 4 uses a plural verb, but the phrase is uncountable and takes 'is'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “subsistence living”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.