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Synonyms

live-in

American  
[liv-in] / ˈlɪvˌɪn /

adjective

  1. Also residing at the place of one's employment.

    a live-in maid.

  2. living in a cohabitant relationship.

noun

  1. a live-in person.

live in British  
/ lɪv /

verb

  1. (of an employee, as in a hospital or hotel) to dwell at one's place of employment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. living in the place at which one works

    a live-in maid

  2. living with someone else in that person's home

    a live-in lover
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
live in Idioms  

  1. Reside in one's place of employment or schooling, as in They wanted a baby-sitter who could live in , or Joe was planning to live in at the college . This expression is used primarily for domestic servants or students. [Late 1800s] Also see live out .

  2. live in something . Continue in existence, memory, or some feeling. This sense appears in such phrases as live in the past , meaning “to concentrate on past memories,” or live in hope of , meaning “to continue anticipating that something will happen.” For example, Alice lived in the past; she had no interest in current events , or Jim lived in hope of getting a teaching post . Also see live in sin .

Etymology

Origin of live-in

1950–55; adj., noun use of verb phrase live in ( a place )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In the latest census, a couple in a live-in relationship can be recorded as married if they consider their "relationship as a stable union" - signalling a quiet shift towards recognising changing social realities.

From BBC

By the time you get to the fourth, it’s all leaning ceilings and postage-stamp windows, what used to be live-in servants’ quarters and what are now rented to anyone who can’t afford rooms on the other stories.

From Literature

His family will likely never live in the drafty Buckingham Palace, having recently signed a 20-year lease on a less grandiose mansion on the Windsor Estate with no live-in staff.

From The Wall Street Journal

He recently told Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2 podcast Eras that "everything that could go wrong with me did go wrong", adding: "I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do."

From BBC

He and his live-in girlfriend mingled their finances.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.