live by bread alone
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.38 in modern English
27
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
2
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To sustain oneself materially while neglecting moral or spiritual beliefs, especially Christianity.
Example Sentences
- "Micah said that the prophets in his day divined for money, and that they would prepare war against those who would not feed them. These good managers, who lived by bread alone, must have pitied the poor prophets who lived by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God!"
- "Living by bread alone will provide us with the means of living; but it will leave us short on the true purpose of life."
- "Yet the battle against insecurity is only half the battle for a better life. A full dinner pail is a necessity. But Americans have never lived by bread alone. We have lived by ideals and by moral values."
Etymology
Inflected Forms
lives by bread alone (present, singular)
living by bread alone (participle, present)
lived by bread alone (participle, past)
lived by bread alone (past)