livelihood
livelihood — noun
1. the money a person earns through work, used to cover everyday costs such as food
the money a person earns through work, used to cover everyday costs such as food, housing, and other basic needs.
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
The flood destroyed the crops that were the family's only livelihood.
Iker chose a career in teaching because it offered a stable livelihood.
The new highway bypassing San José means Andrés could lose his livelihood.
- 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.