livelihood

/ˈlaɪvlihʊd/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlaɪvlihʊd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈlīv-lē-ˌhu̇d/ (ame, mw)

livelihood — noun

  • livelihoodsingular
  • livelihoodsplural

1. the money a person earns through work, used to cover everyday costs such as food

1.名詞B2
釋義

the money a person earns through work, used to cover everyday costs such as food, housing, and other basic needs.

例句

Meera earns her livelihood by running a small bakery in the town market.

collocation: earn + possessive + livelihood

Many fishing families lost their livelihoods after the river became too polluted.

collocation: lose + possessive + livelihood

同義詞
  • living

    More informal and conversational; appears mainly in the fixed phrase make a living

  • income

    Narrower — refers only to money received, not the full way of surviving

  • occupation

    Focuses on the type of job, not on whether it pays enough to live on

  • employment

    Emphasises the state of having a paid job rather than the financial result

文法句型

earn/protect/lose + possessive + livelihood

somebody's livelihood

a means/source of livelihood

用法筆記

Often used with possessive determiners (his livelihood, their livelihoods) or in fixed patterns with verbs of acquisition or loss such as earn, protect, lose, and threaten. More formal than the phrase ‘make a living,’ which is the preferred everyday expression for the same idea.

常見錯誤

❌He works hard for livelihood.
✅He works hard for his livelihood.
💡Livelihood usually needs a possessive determiner (his, her, their) or an article when used after a preposition like for.
❌She makes a livelihood as a nurse.
✅She earns her livelihood as a nurse.
💡The standard verb with livelihood is earn; make a living is a separate fixed phrase.