| 释义 |
lifetime|ˈlaɪftaɪm|
Forms: see life and time.
1. The time that one's life continues, duration of life. Also attrib. or as adj., for the duration of a life, during one's life, while one is alive. Phrases: all in a (or one's) lifetime, implying resignation to whatever happens; of a lifetime, implying that an event, situation, or thing will never be equalled or repeated.
c1220Bestiary 696 Wu laȝelike ȝe [ðe turtre] holdeð luue al hire lif time. c1350Will. Palerne 999, I graunt him greþli..mi loue for euer al mi lif time. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxii. 251 Alle these forsayd thynges trewelych for to kepe..alle his lyf time. 1553Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 5 In hys lyfe tyme by hys owne marcial affayres. 1642tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. viii. §571. 248 Cause them to be given or delivered unto them in their live times. 1732T. Lediard Sethos II. vii. 80 Unless they..restore..them to their favour in their life-time. 1849N. Kingsley Diary (1914) 44 My consolation is that it is all in my lifetime and thus make myself quite contented. Ibid. 52 This must count as ‘all in my lifetime’. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 183 A lifetime might be passed happily in such pursuits. 1898F. P. Dunne Mr. Dooley in Peace & War 187 Well, tubby sure, 'tis thryin' to be dhrivin' a coal wagon or a sthreet-car; but 'tis all in a lifetime. 1929Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking vii. 222 But let me tell you, my lad, that you're throwing away the laugh of a lifetime. Ibid. ix. 314 It must be a cocktail. The cocktail of a lifetime. 1961― Ice in Bedroom xxiii. 188 You take one step in its direction and you're going to get the headache of a lifetime. 1962Amer. Speech XXXVII. 16 New England did contribute the largest number of white lifetime migrants to the state of New York. 1974Country Life 2 May 1065/2 The gifts tax..would be a tax on lifetime gifts.
2. = life n. 8 c.
1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 167 Durable for whatever may be the lifetime of the world. 1920Discovery Apr. 111/1 The helium now found in a mineral can be only a fraction..of the total amount which has been generated within it, and which alone could give a true estimate of its life-time. 1939Physical Rev. LV. 506/1 The lifetime for a mesotron at rest has been estimated..to be of the order 2-4 × 10-6 sec. 1950Ibid. LXXVII. 153/1 (heading) Lifetimes of mercury and potassium atoms in excited states. 1965H. I. Ansoff Corporate Strategy (1968) ii. 24 If it turns out that the lifetime of some projects exceeds the budget period, the period is extended for purpose of analysis. 1968[see life n. 8 c]. 1968Times 29 Nov. 13/3 The running-down rate of the pulsar implies that it has a lifetime of the same order as the Crab nebula. 1972Sci. Amer. May 50/1 The Viking spacecraft will consist of an orbiter and a lander, each with a lifetime of many months. 1974Daily Tel. 17 Apr. 17/4 There is no possibility of action on the lines of the group's proposals in the lifetime of the present Parliament. |