Life definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

View all »
Definitions (100)

American Heritage Dictionary (42)

noun The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.
noun The characteristic state or condition of a living organism.
noun Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life.

39 more from this dictionary »

Century Dictionary (43)

The principle of animate corporeal existence; the capacity of an animal or a plant for self-preservation and growth by the processes of assimilation and excretion, the permanent cessation of which constitutes death; that state of an animal or a plant in which its organs are in actual performance of their functions, or are capable of performing their functions, though the performance has not yet begun, or has begun but incompletely, or has been temporarily suspended; vitality. Deed men he reisid from deeth to lyue. Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 47. The Lord God … breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen, ii. 7. Noble mother, Can you kill that you gave life? are my years Fit for destruction? Fletcher, Bonduca, iv. 4. Seeing, then, that in all cases we may consider the external phenomena as simply in relation, and the internal phenomena also as simply in relation, the broadest and most complete definition of Life will be—The continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations. H. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., § 30. Life is the state of an organized being in which it maintains, or is capable of maintaining, its structural integrity by the constant interchange of elements with the surrounding media. O. W. Holmes, Old Vol. of life, p. 201.
Duration of the animate existence of an individual; the whole or any period of animate existence; the time between birth and death, or any part of it from a given point till death: as, life is but a span; to hold office for life. Mannis lijf here is but a day Aʒens the lijf that euere schal be. Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 84. Health and long life to you, Master Silence. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., v. 3. 54. As men buy Leases, for three lives and downward. Milton, Church-Government, ii., Int. A life spent worthily should be measured by a nobler line—by deeds, not years. Sheridan, Duenna, iv. 1.
The principle or state of conscious spiritual existence: as, the life of the soul. 'Tis life, whereof our nerves are scant, Oh life, not death, for which we pant, More life, and fuller, that I want. Tennyson, Two Voices.

40 more from this dictionary »

View all »
Examples (50)

Some of the most painful moments of his life were associated with the presence of Dr. Cabanis. His early life, the life of a predatory carnivore, had been an unthinkingly happy one. — OCTOBER, 1953 Vol
He said not having a plan for your life is a definite path that leads to destruction and asked the question, "What does it feel like to carry out a plan that God has nothing to do with?" — The Bahama Journal - Bahamas News Headlines
If your life is the one that's saved, or the life of someone you care about, then how important is that company to you?
(GV) Now, you will please note that in both the passages referring to everlasting punishment AND the passages referring to everlasting life, the Greek word translated as — Pulpit Pimps
I felt like my life was an escalator ride, I never seemed to make it anywhere. — The Clarity of Night

More examples »

Add a related word »
Related

Used in the Same Context

world · work · power · mind · love · thing · day · history

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Middle English, from Old English līf; see leip- in Indo-European roots.

Century Dictionary (1)

from Middle English lif, lyf (dative live), from Anglo-Saxon līf, life, = Old Saxon līf, lībh = O Friesic līf= Dutch lijf, life, body, = Middle Low German līf= Old High German līb, līp, life, Middle High German līp, life, body, German leib, body, = Icelandic līf (also lifi), life, = Danish liv = Swedish lif, life, = Gothic (Moesogothic) *leif (not found; cf. libains, life, from the same root, and fairhwus = Anglo-Saxon feorh, life), literally ‘continuance,’ associated with lifian, live, literally remain, continue, from līfan (preterit *lāf, plural *lifon, past participle *lifen), in comp. belīfan = Old Saxon bilībhan = Old High German bilīban, Middle High German belīben, blīben, German bleiben, etc., = Goth, bileiban, etc., remain, be left (see leave), akin to Greek λιπαρής, persistent, persevering, λιπαρεῑν, persist, persevere. Hence in comp. (orig. phr.) alive, by apheresis live.

life

View all »
Definitions (100)

American Heritage Dictionary (42)

Century Dictionary (43)

GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

WordNet (14)

Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

Tags

Stats

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the Same Context

Etymologies (2)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Century Dictionary (1)

Pronunciations
Record your own »

Charts

Recently looked up

Recent Favorites

Recent Pronunciations

life

View all » Definitions (100)

View all » Examples (50)

Tags

Stats

stop updating On Twitter

Photos from

Add a related word » Related

cross reference:

synonyms:

related word:

synonyms:

antonym:

Etymologies (2)

Pronunciations Record your own »

Charts

Recently looked up

Recent Favorites

Recent Pronunciations

View all »
Definitions (100)

View all »
Examples (50)

stop updating
On Twitter

Add a related word »
Related

Pronunciations
Record your own »