LIFE

[noun] [plural] lives - the period between birth and death; the experience or state of being aliveLife is too short to worry about money! [U]He went a little bit mad towards the end of his life. [C]Cats are supposed to have nine lives. [C]Life at the top in any sport does involve a lot of sacrifice. [U]He doesn't know what he really wants in/out of life. [U]Spending six months in Russia changed my outlook on life. [U](formal) She departed this life (= she died) at the age of 95. [U]He lost his life (= died suddenly because of a violent event or an accident) in the Great War. [C]A simple mixture of glucose and water can save lives in many parts of the world. [C]She's a life (US usually lifetime) member of Amnesty International (= She will belong to it until she dies).He ran off with her life savings (= all the money she had saved).See also afterlife; pro-life.Life is also used to refer to particular types or parts of someone's experience.He had a long and interesting working life [C]They were investigating her private life [C]We interviewed senior politicians, famous writers and others in public life. [U]What's your sex life like? [C]Drugs and violence are deeply rooted in American life. [U]I left home at 16 to see life (= have different experiences with a lot of people in lots of places). [U]Teaching has been her life (= the most important and enjoyable thing in her life). [U]The life of something such as a machine or organization is the period for which it works or lasts.The newer batteries have a much longer life - up to 100 hours. [C]The legislation won't be passed during the life of the present parliament. [U]Life is also the quality which makes people, animals and plants different from objects, substances and things which are dead.The doctor frantically tried to discover some sign of life in the boy's mangled body.Life is also energy or enthusiasm.The show was so full of life.Put more life into your voice.Life is also everything which is alive.animal lifeplant lifeIn the jungle there is an overwhelming abundance of life.In phrases such as the next/another life or a future/past/previous life, people express their belief that after you die you are born again as a different person or as an animal.She believes in reincarnation and she says we must have met before in a previous life.(specialized) In art, if you work from life, you paint, draw, etc. real people or objects usually while they are in front of you rather than from memory.They drew the cat from life.In life (drawing) classes a model is employed to pose for the students. See also still life at still (NOT MOVING).(informal) Esp. in children's games, a life is one of the limited number of times that you can lose, but still continue playing.Every time the little man gets hit you lose a life.If you say that a work of art brings someone or something to life you mean that it shows them in a believable and interesting way.The film really brought the story of the rebellion to life.If something or someone comes to life they stop being dead or (figurative) begin to show energy, activity, enthusiasm, etc..The story is about a statue that comes to life.(figurative) The dancers only really came to life during the jazz numbers.If something is for life it is for the whole of your life.I believe marriage is for life.(informal) I can't for the life of me remember her name (= I cannot remember it although I'm making a great effort to).To give/lay down your life for someone/something is to die willingly while defending or supporting them/it.They were ready to give their lives for their country."How's life?" and "How's life treating you?" are informal greetings.If you believe in life after death you believe that people continue to exist in some form after they die.A life and death situation is a very serious and important or dangerous one.These groups are in the middle of a life and death struggle for survival.It's a life and death issue. See a matter of life and/or death at matter (SITUATION).If you describe someone as the (UK) life and soul of the party/(US and ANZ) life of the party you mean that they are energetic and amusing and are at the centre of activity during social occasions.(humorous) The market for those dreadful compilation records you see advertised on TV is one/another of life's great mysteries (= it's not clear why people want to buy them)."How do you feel about the divorce?" "Oh, it's all part of life's rich tapestry (= it's part of the series of good and bad experiences that you cannot avoid in life)."She's decided to make/start a new life (= change how she lives).(informal) The man/woman in someone's life is the person they love or are married to or with whom they have a close and usually sexual relationship.Who's the man in your life now then, eh?When a machine or vehicle roars/thunders/coughs into life it suddenly starts working.The motorcycle thundered into life.(dated informal) If you say that someone is leading/living the life of Riley, you mean that they are living an easy and comfortable life, without any need to work hard.(informal) You say Not on your life! as a way of strongly refusing someone's suggestion or request."Shall we spend the holiday at home?" "Not on your life! I'm determined to go to Italy this year."(formal) If you take someone's life, you kill them.(formal) To take your (own) life is to kill yourself.(informal) To take your life in your hands is to do something that is very dangerous, esp. where you risk death.Every time you go parachuting you are taking your life in your hands.You say That's life after something bad or unlucky has happened, to express your feeling that such events will sometimes happen and have to be accepted."We bought our house just before house prices slumped." "Oh, well, I suppose that's life, isn't it."If you say This is the life you mean that you are very much enjoying the situation you are in.Relaxing by the swimming pool, he lifted his glass and said, "This is the life for me!"To scare, frighten, etc. the life out of someone is to scare them very much.(dated) If a picture or description is someone to the life it is exactly like them.That sketch is Joanna to the life.If you describe something as life-affirming, you mean that it makes you feel positive about life.Such a warm, life-affirming film!A life belt or life buoy is a piece of equipment, usually a ring or belt filled with air or light material that floats which is designed to help someone float if they fall into water.The life cycle or life history of a living thing is the series of changes it goes through from the beginning of its life until death.Perhaps the main event in the life cycle of a salmon is the return to its breeding grounds.(figurative) The life cycle of new technologies gets shorter and shorter these days.The life expectancy of a living thing, esp. a human being, is the length of time that it is likely to live.Life expectancy in Europe has increased greatly in the 20th century.A life form is any living thing.They are searching for intelligent life forms in other solar systems.Something that is life-giving is necessary for life or gives energy.life-giving fresh waterA person's life history or life story is the series of events that they have lived through since their birth.The woman sitting next to me started to tell me her whole life history! See also life (story) at life.Life imprisonment (also informal life) is the punishment of being put in prison for a very long time without an arranged time for release or (US) until death.The judge jailed him for life.She got life imprisonment. See also life sentence at life.Life insurance (also [esp. UK] life assurance) is a system in which you make regular payments to an insurance company in exchange for a fixed amount of money which will be paid to someone you have named, usually a member of your family, when you die.A life jacket is a piece of equipment like a jacket without sleeves that is filled with air or light material and is designed to help someone float if they fall into water.In Britain, a life peer is a person who is given the honour of a title such as 'Lord' and a place in the House of Lords as a reward for the good things they have done for the country. This honour and position is called a life peerage.Life preserver is US for life belt or life jacket.A life raft is a type of boat which is joined to a large ship and is used in emergencies, for example when the main ship is sinking, to take people to safety.In life-saving classes you learn how to save someone's life when they have fallen into water.My kids go to life-saving once a week.A life-saver is a person who is trained to save the life of someone who has fallen into water.Life-saver is also ANZ for lifeguard.A life-saver can also be something which helps you to feel better after an unpleasant experience.Oh, yes please - a glass of whisky would be a life-saver.A life science is one of the sciences dealing with the structure and behaviour of living things including human beings, such as botany, zoology, biochemistry and anthropology.A life-size(d) work of art is the same size as the person or thing that it represents.a life-size statue of the Prime MinisterA life sentence (also informal life) is the punishment of being put in prison for a very long time without an arranged time for release, or (US) until death.As a murderer, he'll receive/get a life sentence. See also life imprisonment at life; lifer at life.A life (story) is a book, film, etc. that tells the story of a person's life.He's written yet another life of Shakespeare.A life-support system is the equipment used to keep a person alive when they are very ill or when they are in a dangerous situation.Since the crash he has been on a life-support system.A life-support system can also be the natural structures and systems that are necessary for living things, especially human beings, to be able to live.The lack of rain is threatening all the region's life-support systems (= the earth, trees and rivers).A life-threatening disease is a very serious one that can cause death.life-threatening diseases such as cancerA person's life's work (also life work) is the work that is most important to them and that they spend much of their time and energy doing.The creation of a charity for the blind was her life's work.