live down

/ lɪv /

verb

1. tr, adverb to withstand the effects of (a crime, mistake, etc) by waiting until others forget or forgive it

Idioms and Phrases

Overcome or reduce the shame of a mistake, misdeed, or the like. It is often put in the negative, as in I'm afraid I'll never live down that tactless remark I made . [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

“I would probably just try to live down and away and keep him in the park,” Scout A said.

From Los Angeles Times

It took Dole years to live down his image as a political hatchet man.

From Los Angeles Times

Kinsey adds that one of her joys in life is living down the block from Bratton.

From Los Angeles Times

“Just a couple hundred years ago, people thought the planet was hollow and that there were people living down there. It’s pretty exotic — exotic like Jupiter, but it’s just right under our feet.”

From Los Angeles Times

It’s an image that her friends won’t let her live down to this day, telling her, “Anh, all we remember you as is the girl on speakers.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bear
• endure
• exist
• get through
• handle
• keep
• last
• live
• recover
• remain
• ride out
• subsist
• suffer
• sustain
• weather
• withstand