live up
be as good as what people expected or hoped
What does "live up to sth" mean?
Examples
- The sequel never quite lived up to the original film.
- Does the restaurant live up to its five-star reputation?
- She has always lived up to her promises, no matter how difficult.
How to use it
The most common pattern: a person, product, or event either meets or fails to meet a specific expectation, reputation, or promise.
The new restaurant really lived up to its five-star reputation.
This verb is frequently paired with 'fail to', 'struggle to', or 'manage to', especially in evaluative contexts like reviews or assessments.
The second album failed to live up to the hype surrounding it.
A pronoun referring to the expectation or promise always follows 'to' — it cannot be placed elsewhere in the sentence.
She made bold promises before the election, and she actually lived up to them.
This pattern is used to describe expectations or reputations that are challenging to meet, often with an implied negative outcome.
Winning the award so young gave her a reputation that was almost impossible to live up to.
A clause beginning with 'what' can replace a noun phrase as the object, allowing for more specific or descriptive expectations.
The product didn't quite live up to what the reviews had led us to expect.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
The preposition 'to' is a fixed and obligatory part of this phrasal verb — you cannot drop it or skip it. Without 'to', the sentence is ungrammatical.
'Live up to' focuses on fulfilling a specific prior expectation, promise, or reputation, while 'measure up to' suggests a direct comparison against a benchmark or standard. They are close in meaning but not always interchangeable — 'live up to the hype' and 'live up to its name', for example, are fixed collocations that don't work with 'measure up to'.
'Live up to' always needs an object after 'to' — unlike some phrasal verbs, it cannot be used on its own without a following noun, pronoun, or clause.
Usage
This phrasal verb is neutral and works in both spoken and written English — you'll hear it in everyday conversation ('it didn't live up to the hype') and read it in formal reviews or journalism. It is especially common in negative sentences, since people often discuss things that failed to meet expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can 'live up to' be used in the passive, like 'the expectations were lived up to'?
No — the passive doesn't work naturally with 'live up to'. Because the object follows the preposition 'to' rather than the verb directly, you can't transform it into a standard passive sentence. Native speakers would rephrase instead: for example, 'the expectations were never met' or 'nothing lived up to the expectations'.
Does 'live up to' only talk about expectations set by other people, or can it also refer to your own standards?
There is actually a related sense where 'live up to' means behaving according to your own moral principles or personal values — for example, 'he tried to live up to his ideals'. However, the most frequent use, especially in reviews and evaluations, is about meeting external expectations, a reputation, or a promise. The surrounding context usually makes the meaning clear.
Is 'live up to' more common in negative sentences? It seems like it's always used to say something failed.
You've noticed something real — 'live up to' does appear very frequently in negative or qualified sentences, such as 'didn't live up to', 'failed to live up to', or 'rarely lives up to'. This reflects the natural tendency to discuss disappointment when something falls short of expectations. That said, it is also used positively: 'the film completely lived up to the hype' is perfectly natural and shows genuine praise.
What kinds of things can be the subject of 'live up to'?
Almost anything that can have a reputation, generate expectations, or make a promise can be the subject. Common subjects include films, albums, restaurants, products, politicians, athletes, and events. The key is that some prior expectation or claim must exist — something or someone has been anticipated or promised to be a certain way, and 'live up to' tells us whether that standard was reached.
Are there fixed phrases with 'live up to' that I should learn as chunks?
Yes — several collocations are so frequent that it's worth learning them as ready-made phrases: 'live up to expectations', 'live up to the hype', 'live up to its name', 'live up to its reputation', and 'fail to live up to'. These appear constantly in reviews, journalism, and conversation, and knowing them as chunks will make your English sound much more natural.
Ready to practise?
Practise 1,000+ English phrasal verbs with interactive gap-fill exercises.
Start Practising →