live off

Survive by consuming

To live off something is to depend on it for sustenance or financial support.

You can live off the land by hunting and foraging, live off your savings during unemployment, or live off your parents well into adulthood.

The phrase often carries a slight judgment when applied to people: He's thirty and still living off his mother.

dependence

subsist

Maintain minimal existence

maintain · welfare · pension · alimony · stipend · grants · scholarship · allowance · inheritance · savings

exploitation

sponge

Absorbent cleaning material

mooch · take advantage · use · drain · burden · exploit · capitalize · coattails · handouts · generosity

sustenance

forage

Seek food actively

  • huntPursuit of quarry
  • fishGilled aquatic vertebrate
  • gatherBring or come together

farm · harvest · grow · land · garden · homestead · grid · nature · wild · sea

Opposites
financial independence

live offearn one's keep

Contribute enough to justify support

fend for oneself · stand on one's own two feet · bring home the bacon · make ends meet · pull one's own weight

economic contribution

live offsupport

To uphold or sustain

sustain · fund · bankroll · subsidize · keep

self-sufficiency

live offstand alone

Exist without dependency

go it alone · pull one's own weight · bootstrap

Family

off, live, life, alive, living, lives, lived, liveliness, livelihood

Familiarity
Top 50,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G