live down: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2Informal to Semi-Formal, Figurative
Quick answer
What does “live down” mean?
To cause (a mistake, embarrassment, or shameful act) to be forgotten over time by behaving better.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
To cause (a mistake, embarrassment, or shameful act) to be forgotten over time by behaving better.
To outlive or overcome the negative consequences or memory of a past action through subsequent behavior; to manage to have people forget about something regrettable.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. The structure and colloquial nature are identical.
Connotations
Similar connotations of shame, embarrassment, or notoriety in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally common and used in the same contexts in both UK and US English.
Grammar
How to Use “live down” in a Sentence
[Subject] will never live down [Object - e.g., mistake, incident].[Subject] is trying to live [Object] down.It took [Subject] years to live down [Object].Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “live down” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- He'll never live down singing that karaoke song so terribly at the office party.
- It took her ages to live down the embarrassment of calling her boss 'mum'.
American English
- That fumble in the championship game? He'll never live it down.
- She's still trying to live down her viral TikTok fail from last year.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
He hopes to live down the disastrous product launch with this new campaign.
Academic
The scholar never quite lived down the plagiarism accusation, despite later retractions.
Everyday
I tripped in front of everyone at the wedding; I'll never live it down!
Technical
Rarely used in technical contexts; more common in social/psychological descriptions.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “live down”
- Incorrect: *'I need to live down from my mistake.' (Omit 'from'). Correct: 'I need to live down my mistake.'
- Incorrect: *'This is a live down situation.' (Using it as a noun/adjective). It is only a phrasal verb.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Almost never. It is exclusively used for negative, embarrassing, or shameful events that one wishes people would forget.
No, it is primarily used in informal and semi-formal contexts. In very formal writing, alternatives like 'overcome' or 'outlive' might be preferred.
'Get over' focuses on personal emotional recovery. 'Live down' focuses on social perception and reputation—making *others* forget or stop mentioning it.
Very rarely and idiomatically. You cannot 'live down a person'. The object is the embarrassing event, mistake, or reputation associated with you (e.g., 'live down the rumor,' not 'live down the person who spread the rumor').
To cause (a mistake, embarrassment, or shameful act) to be forgotten over time by behaving better.
Live down: in British English it is pronounced /ˌlɪv ˈdaʊn/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌlɪv ˈdaʊn/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A reputation/mistake to live down”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine the shameful event is a heavy DOWNpour of rain you have to LIVE through until it stops and people forget how wet you got.
Conceptual Metaphor
SHAME IS A BURDEN (that one must carry until it wears away). PAST IS A PURSUER (that one must outrun/outlive).
Practice
Quiz
What does 'live down' imply about the subject's action?