live down
B2 informal transitive
In simple words
To stop being teased or judged for something embarrassing you did.
Literal meaning: To push something downward into obscurity — 'down' implies suppressing or burying the memory.
Meanings
1 B2
idiomatic
informal
To succeed in making people forget an embarrassing or shameful past event, usually after a long time — most commonly used in the negative.
"He tripped on stage at the school play and never lived it down — people still bring it up ten years later."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Almost always used in the negative ('never live it down', 'can't live it down'), implying the embarrassment will last forever. The object is typically the embarrassing event.
Commonly used with
mistake embarrassment incident gaffe failure reputation
Forms
Base
live down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
lives down
he/she/it
Past simple
lived down
yesterday
Past participle
lived down
have + pp
-ing form
living down
continuous
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Synonyms
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