live on

live on idiom
  1. Be financially supported by, subsist on, as in His pension is too small to live on. [Mid-1600s]
  2. Continue to survive, especially unexpectedly, as in They thought the cancer would kill her, but Lucy lived on for another twenty years.
  3. Remain in human memory, as in This book will live on long after the author's death.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.