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live off

B1 neutral inseparable transitive
In simple words

To use someone or something to survive and pay for your needs.

Literal meaning: To draw sustenance away from a source — 'off' implies dependence or derivation.

Meanings

1 B1 informal

To be financially supported by another person, especially without contributing yourself.

"He's thirty years old and still living off his parents."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B1 neutral

To use savings, investments, or passive income as your main source of financial support.

"After retiring early, she lived off the interest from her investments."

Grammar: inseparable
3 B1 neutral

To eat only or mainly a particular food, especially by necessity or choice.

"During the camping trip, we lived off canned beans and dried fruit."

Grammar: inseparable
4 B2 idiomatic informal

To exploit or benefit repeatedly from a past achievement or reputation (figurative).

"The band had one big hit in the nineties and has been living off it ever since."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Can imply a negative judgment (living off others without contributing) or be neutral (living off the land). The line between 'live off' and 'live on' overlaps for food and money, though 'live off' more often implies a source/provider and 'live on' an amount.

Commonly used with

savings inheritance parents land benefits investments

Forms

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

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Synonyms

depend on rely on be supported by subsist on feed off be maintained by

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