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live on

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live on

(after someone or something) to be remembered long after someone or something might otherwise be forgotten or dead, in the case of persons. His good works will live on long after him. Fears of war will live on after the actual conflict. I hope my memory lives on.

See also: live, on

live on something

to depend on something for sustenance. (Compare this with live off someone or something.) I can't live on bread and water. We can hardly live on $500 a week.

See also: live, on

live on

1. Be financially supported by, subsist on, as in His pension is too small to live on. [Mid-1600s]

2. Continue to survive, especially unexpectedly, as in They thought the cancer would kill her, but Lucy lived on for another twenty years.

3. Remain in human memory, as in This book will live on long after the author's death.

See also: live, on

live on

v.

1. To survive or provide for one's needs by using some resource: The retiree had to live on a fixed income. The family lived on $30,000 a year.

2. To persist; endure: Although The Beatles broke up decades ago, their music lives on.

See also: live, on