- present participle of live.
living
Usage
What are other ways to say living?
Living and livelihood (a somewhat more formal word), both refer to what one earns to keep (oneself) alive, but are seldom interchangeable within the same phrase: to earn one's living; to threaten one's livelihood. “To make a living” suggests making just enough to keep alive, and is particularly frequent in the negative: You cannot make a living out of that. “To make a livelihood out of something” suggests rather making a business of it: to make a livelihood out of knitting hats. Maintenance refers usually to what is spent for the living of another: to provide for the maintenance of someone. Maintenance occasionally refers to the allowance itself provided for livelihood: They are entitled to a maintenance from this estate.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jeanette Epps, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, Zoomed into my living room from 250 miles above Earth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
We’re just living through a time when they’ve escaped containment.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
For people living with long COVID, the findings may also provide a biological explanation for symptoms that can be difficult to measure from the outside.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Households are facing $4.50-a-gallon gas and record $6.50-a-gallon diesel, as well as a rising cost of living and higher borrowing costs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
If Tante Jans’s share in this crowded house was remarkably large, it never seemed so to any of us living there.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
