INDEX:
1. the time when someone is alive
2. the kind of life that someone has
3. continuing for all of someone’s life
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ ALIVE
↑ LIVE
↑ EXIST
↑ DEAD
↑ DIE
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1. the time when someone is alive
▷ life /laɪf/ [countable noun]
the time when someone is alive :
the happiest/saddest/worst etc day of your life
▪ The day our daughter was born was the happiest day of my life.
the rest of somebody’s life
▪ Sutcliffe was sent to jail for the rest of his life.
spend your life
▪ Dad spent his life building up this business.
▪ How would you like to spend your life? What kind of work would you like to do?
for life
for the rest of your life
▪ The accident left him crippled for life.
somebody’s early life
when someone was young
▪ He knew very little about his mother’s early life in Africa.
somebody’s adult life
▪ The first half of my adult life was spent in jail.
in later life
when you are old
▪ Lack of calcium can lead to bone disease in later life.
▷ lifetime /ˈlaɪftaɪm/ [countable noun usually singular]
the time when someone is alive - use this when you are talking about how long someone lived and what happened in their life :
in/during somebody’s lifetime
▪ He suffered a lot of pain in his short lifetime.
▪ During Dickinson’s lifetime, only a few of her works were actually published.
lifetime of
▪ The National Medal of Arts award is meant to honor a lifetime of achievement.
last a lifetime
last as long as someone lives
▪ A good tool should last a lifetime.
once-in-a-lifetime chance/opportunity
a chance or opportunity that will only happen once in a person’s lifetime
▪ The visit to Tibet was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
▷ days /deɪz/ [plural noun]
someone’s life, especially a particular period of their life :
somebody’s student days/school days
▪ I asked Debbie about her student days and she just laughed. ‘I dropped out of school the day I turned 16,’ she said.
somebody’s younger days
▪ In her younger days, she was quite a fancy dresser.
somebody’s early days
the time when someone has just started something, especially a job
▪ The play is based on the early days of cabaret singer Rosie Kincaid.
the rest of your days
the rest of your life
▪ Evelyn spent the rest of her days quietly in the country until her death in 1963.
end your days
spend the last part of your life doing something
▪ She ended her days in poverty.
somebody’s days as/with something
a period of time in someone’s life when they were doing a particular job or activity
▪ Michael knew Annette during her days as an off-Broadway actress.
▪ I first became a fan of guitarist Cory Weldon during his days with the Leeds band, Sinister Minister.
▷ lifespan /ˈlaɪfspæn/ [singular noun]
the length of time that a person or animal usually lives :
normal/natural/average lifespan
▪ The natural lifespan of a pig is 10-12 years.
short/long lifespan
▪ Saltwater fish have a shorter lifespan in the aquarium.
somebody’s lifespan
▪ Authorities estimate that smoking trims between 12 and 15 years off a person’s lifespan.
▷ life expectancy /ˌlaɪf ɪkˈspektənsi/ [countable noun]
the length of time that a person or animal is expected to live :
▪ Women have a longer life expectancy than men.
low/high life expectancy
a short or long life
▪ Life expectancy was much lower then than it is now.
average life expectancy
▪ At the beginning of the century, the average life expectancy for Americans was less than 50 years.
have a life expectancy of 64/78 etc years
be expected to live until you are 64/78 etc
▪ British males now have a life expectancy of around 77 years.
▷ life cycle /ˈlaɪf ˌsaɪk ə l/ [countable noun]
all the different stages in development that an animal or plant has in the time that it is alive :
▪ Despite decades of study, the life cycle of the tiny shellfish, krill, is still something of a mystery.
2. the kind of life that someone has
▷ life /laɪf/ [countable noun]
the kind of life that someone has :
▪ Having a baby completely changes your life.
a happy/busy/exciting etc life
▪ Debbie has a really busy life, doesn’t she?
▪ They enjoyed a full and happy life together until his death in June l999.
lead a happy/quiet/exciting etc life
▪ We’ve led a very quiet life since Ralph retired.
quality of life
the level of health, comfort and pleasure in someone’s life
▪ By our actions today, we can improve the quality of life for future generations.
a better life
▪ Immigrating to the UK was their only chance for a better life.
a life of crime
when you make money by committing crimes instead of having a normal job
▪ He left school at 15, quickly turning to a life of crime.
▷ existence /ɪgˈzɪst ə ns/ [singular noun]
the life that someone has, especially when they have difficult or bad experiences :
a lonely/miserable/unhappy etc existence
▪ Elena faced a lonely existence in the big city.
lead a miserable/lonely etc existence
have a particular existence
▪ The workers lived a miserable existence and were treated like serfs.
▷ lifestyle /ˈlaɪfstaɪl/ [countable noun]
the way someone lives and behaves, and the type of things they buy, eat etc :
a healthy lifestyle
▪ You really need to think about leading a healthier lifestyle.
lavish/luxurious lifestyle
the lifestyle of someone who is very rich
▪ Hurst’s lavish lifestyle is the stuff of legend.
extravagant lifestyle
a lifestyle that shows people how rich you are
▪ Even when in debt, he continued to enjoy an extravagant lifestyle.
▷ way of life /ˌweɪ əv ˈlaɪf/ [noun phrase]
the way in which a person or group of people lives, and the type of things they usually do :
somebody’s way of life
▪ ‘How can we abandon our way of life?’ asked the old sheep herder. ‘It’s all we know.’
become a way of life
▪ Casual dress has become a way of life in corporate Britain.
the British/German/American etc way of life
▪ Shopping is an important part of the American way of life.
▷ live well/happily/carefully etc /ˌlɪv ˈwel/ [verb phrase]
to live your life in a particular way :
▪ Tom and Linda both earn good salaries -- they live well and have a nice home.
▪ One can live cheaply in London, although it’s not easy.
3. continuing for all of someone’s life
▷ all your life /ˌɔːl jɔːʳ ˈlaɪf/ [adverb]
for the whole of your life :
▪ I’ve known Jenny all my life.
▪ Despite having worked hard all his life, Jimmy had saved very little for retirement.
▷ for life /fəʳ ˈlaɪf/ [adverb]
if something is for life, it will continue and not change for the rest of your life :
▪ There’s no such thing as a job for life these days.
▪ As far as I’m concerned, when you get married it’s for life.
▷ lifelong /ˈlaɪflɒŋǁ-lɔːŋ/ [adjective only before noun]
continuing for all of your life - use this about beliefs, feelings, or relationships that last for the whole of your life :
lifelong supporter
▪ My father was a lifelong supporter of the Democrats.
lifelong ambition
something that you have always wanted to do
▪ It was her lifelong ambition to write a best-selling novel.
lifelong friends
friends for life
▪ The two remained lifelong friends.