- 1[countable, usually singular] money to buy the things that you need in life She earns her living as a freelance journalist. to make a good/decent/meager living What do you do for a living?
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- 2[uncountable] a way or style of life everyday living communal living plain living Their standard of living is very low. The cost of living has risen sharply. poor living conditions/standards
- 3the living [plural] people who are alive now the living and the dead Idioms
awake or alive or no longer sick I'm glad to see you're back in the land of the living. We were worried about you. By lunchtime I'd returned to the land of the living.
Check pronunciation: living