Phrase guide

live wire

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈlaɪv ˈwaɪə(ɹ)/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An electrical wire through which there is a flow of electrical current.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, electrical-engineering, electricity, electromagnetism, energy, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An especially energetic, alert, or vivacious person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: go-getter, life of the party, self-starter

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

an alert and energetic person

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: eager beaver, busy bee, sharpie, sharpy

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: actor, doer, worker

Narrower terms: goffer, gopher

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: tarmonpesä — idiom for a vivacious person
  • French: pile électrique — idiom for a vivacious person
  • Māori: kori — idiom for a vivacious person