Definition of "living" in English

verb

1. present participle of live

adjective

1. Having life; alive.

   • a living, breathing child
   • Respect for the dead does not preclude respect for the living.

2. In use or existing.

   • Hunanese is a living language.

3. True to life.

   • This is the living image of Fidel Castro.

4. Of rock or stone, existing in its original state and place.

5. Continually updated; not static

   • HTML is a living standard.

6. Used as an intensifier.

   • He almost beat the living daylights out of me.

noun

1. (uncountable) The state of being alive.

2. Financial means; a means of maintaining life; livelihood

   • it's a living
   • What do you do for a living?

3. A style of life.

   • plain living
   • The National Brewing Company declared that the Chesapeake Bay region was the Land of Pleasant Living.

4. (with "the") Those who are alive: living people.

   • in the land of the living
   • Glad to see you're still among the living! [good-humored greeting]
   • Some say that the spirits of the departed walk among the living, though most of us do not see them.

5. (canon law) A position in a church (usually the Church of England) that has attached to it a source of income; an ecclesiastical benefice.