live down to

verb

To fulfill low or bad expectations.

“She lived down to her reputation as an awful person.”

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Meanings

verblive down to (third-person singular simple present lives down to, present participle living down to, simple past and past participle lived down to)

present singular third person lives down to · participle present living down to · participle past lived down to · past lived down to

  1. transitiveTo fulfill low or bad expectations.

    She lived down to her reputation as an awful person.

Origin

Opposite version of live up to.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

live down to. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/live%20down%20to

MLA

“live down to.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/live%20down%20to. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “live down to,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/live%20down%20to.

Source: live down to on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.