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live in

A2 neutral inseparable intransitive
In simple words

To have your home somewhere, or to sleep at the place where you work.

Literal meaning: Transparent — to be inside a place as your place of living.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To have your home or permanent residence in a particular place.

"They've lived in Tokyo for over fifteen years."

"We lived in a house on Privet Drive."

— J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
Grammar: inseparable
2 B1 neutral

To live at the place where you work, typically as a domestic employee or carer.

"The family hired a live-in housekeeper who had her own room on the top floor."

Grammar: inseparable
3 B1 informal

To cohabit with a romantic partner without being married (often as compound adjective 'live-in').

"Her live-in boyfriend helps pay the rent."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

As a simple residence verb, it is fully transparent. The 'live-in' compound adjective (e.g. 'live-in nanny', 'live-in boyfriend') is very common in British and American English to describe someone who resides at a workplace or partner's home.

Commonly used with

apartment house city country nanny carer

Forms

Base
live in
I/you/we/they
3rd person
lives in
he/she/it
Past simple
lived in
yesterday
Past participle
lived in
have + pp
-ing form
living in
continuous

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Synonyms

reside in dwell in be based in inhabit be resident in

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