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

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Swirling movements, colorful costumes galore and Tchaikovsky's score performed live by the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra. Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 10 Dec. 2025 Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is performed live by Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, with Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s choreography. Charlottefive Staff, Charlotte Observer, 10 Dec. 2025 Putin still lives by these rules. Andrew Ryvkin, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2025 The test was monitored live by top officials from the Turkish Air Force, Baykar, among others. Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for live by

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Cite this Entry

“Live by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/live%20by. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.

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