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.
Days later, sanitation workers cleared the encampment where he’d been living.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
Many baby boomers, born to parents who grew up in the Great Depression, are living well on their savings, aided by steady Social Security checks and decades of stock-portfolio gains that they can now tap.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
According to Italian news agency Ansa, he was living at the property under a false name.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
To a kid raised on a steady diet of Bootsy Collins and Parliament-Funkadelic who dreamed of L.A. living, the Chili Peppers’ earliest output was funk rock magic.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
But Ushers, Brickbane once explained, had already left the gravity of their living bodies.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
