Meaning
“Live off” means to depend on something or someone for the money, food, or resources you need in order to survive.
Grammar and Usage
- Pattern: live off + noun/pronoun
- Used as a phrasal verb.
- Often implies financial or resource dependency.
- Can sometimes carry a negative nuance (e.g., living off someone else without contributing).
Variations
- live off sth → depend on a particular type of food, money, or resource.
- live off sb → depend on a person financially or materially.
Common Phrases
- live off the land
- live off benefits
- live off savings
- live off one’s parents
Collocations
- live off savings
- live off the land
- live off government support
- live off credit cards
- live off handouts
Examples
- Many students live off their parents while studying at university.
- During the trip, we lived off the land by fishing and gathering wild plants.
- After losing his job, he had to live off his savings for several months.
- Some families are forced to live off government assistance.
- He has been living off credit cards, which is not sustainable.
- They lived off a small inheritance after retirement.
- The survivors lived off canned food for weeks.
Synonyms or Related
- depend on
- rely on
- survive on
- subsist on
Antonym
- live independently
- support oneself
- be self-sufficient