live by
phrasal verb
lived by; living by; lives by
1
: to agree with and follow (something, such as a set of beliefs)
He tried to live by his faith.
a principle I try to live by
2
: to survive by (doing something)
They were an ancient people who lived by hunting and gathering.
Examples of live by in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Have After-Dinner Drinks For a sleepy town that formerly lived by a lights-out-by-eight mentality, there are plenty of places to imbibe, from a few local breweries to Tin Whiskey Southern Kitchen & Still, one of the newest additions to the food scene.
—
Marisa Spyker, Southern Living, 20 May 2024
That’s antithetical to Trump’s zero-sum approach to life where people who live by the rules are suckers, truth is optional and manipulation is an acceptable premeditated strategy to deflect personal responsibility in the pursuit of unfettered power.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 12 Mar. 2024
From this bizarre starting point, Arnold crafted a social realist drama about a family on the fringes of society living by British seaside and an unexpected visitor who becomes close to a young girl entering puberty.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 17 May 2024
The military academy’s honor code, for example, requires cadets not just to live by the rules but refuse to tolerate those who break them.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 15 May 2024
Over 600 guests attended the event, which was broadcast live by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios to more than 30 million viewers.
—Ariana Quihuiz, Peoplemag, 12 May 2024
She was discovered in April by contractors, who needed a ladder to reach the location, and was later asked to find a new place to live by police, the Detroit Free Press reported.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 10 May 2024
Albini lived by his own fiercely stubborn code of punk DIY ethics.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
Evan Phillips would have been pitching in his fifth game in the past eight days – a red flag on the bullpen usage chart the Dodgers live by.
—Bill Plunkett, Orange County Register, 30 Apr. 2024
Marisa Spyker, Southern Living, 20 May 2024
That’s antithetical to Trump’s zero-sum approach to life where people who live by the rules are suckers, truth is optional and manipulation is an acceptable premeditated strategy to deflect personal responsibility in the pursuit of unfettered power.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 12 Mar. 2024
From this bizarre starting point, Arnold crafted a social realist drama about a family on the fringes of society living by British seaside and an unexpected visitor who becomes close to a young girl entering puberty.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 17 May 2024
The military academy’s honor code, for example, requires cadets not just to live by the rules but refuse to tolerate those who break them.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 15 May 2024
Over 600 guests attended the event, which was broadcast live by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios to more than 30 million viewers.
—Ariana Quihuiz, Peoplemag, 12 May 2024
She was discovered in April by contractors, who needed a ladder to reach the location, and was later asked to find a new place to live by police, the Detroit Free Press reported.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 10 May 2024
Albini lived by his own fiercely stubborn code of punk DIY ethics.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
Evan Phillips would have been pitching in his fifth game in the past eight days – a red flag on the bullpen usage chart the Dodgers live by.
—Bill Plunkett, Orange County Register, 30 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'live by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Live by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/live%20by. Accessed 1 Jun. 2024.
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