adjective / adverb
live
Active and capable of operating at the present moment.
The new payment system is live and accepts orders now.
Etymology
Live is shortened from alive. Its equipment sense extends being alive to being active or operational.
More examples
- The station broadcasts the mayor's speech live.
- An electrician checks whether the exposed wire is live.
- The guards carry live ammunition during their patrols.
Forms
live
Similar words
- active
- Active emphasizes present activity, not necessarily readiness to operate.
- operational
- Operational stresses working condition rather than real-time transmission or activity.