live by

phrasal verb

lived by; living by; lives by

: 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

: 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 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 Human beings treating each other right and living by the Golden Rule. —

Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 15 Apr. 2024 Students memorize these Miles Ahead principles and are taught to live by them. —

Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 21 Mar. 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.