life /līf/

1. The state of being alive
2. Conscious existence
3. Animate or vegetative existence
4. The sum of the activities of plants and animals
5. Continuation or possession of such a state
6. Continued existence, activity, vitality or validity of anything
7. The period of usefulness of machinery, etc
8. Vitality
9. Union of soul and body
10. The period between birth and death
11. Any of a number of opportunities of remaining in a game
12. Career
13. Current state of existence
14. Manner of living
15. Moral conduct
16. Animation
17. Liveliness, vivacity
18. The appearance of being alive
19. A living being, esp human
20. Living things collectively
21. Social state
22. Social vitality
23. Human affairs
24. A narrative of a life, a biography
25. Eternal happiness
26. A source of existence or animation
27. The living form and expression, living semblance
28. In wines, sparkle
29. In cut gems, reflection, sparkle
30. Imprisonment for life (informal)
31. A person insured against death

Used as an oath, abbreviated from God's life

1. For the duration of life
2. Of life

lifeˈful (Spenser lyfull or lifull) adjective

Full of vital energy

lifeˈless adjective

1. Dead
2. Unconscious
3. Without vigour or vivacity
4. Of food or drink, insipid
5. Sluggish
6. Not able to support living things

lifeˈlessly adverb

lifeˈlessness noun

lifeˈlike adjective

Of something inanimate, like a living person or the copied original

lifeˈlikeness noun

līfˈer noun

1. A person sentenced to imprisonment for life
2. A life sentence

lifeˈsome adjective (archaic)

1. Full of life
2. Lively

life'-affirming adjective

Reinforcing a belief in the worth of human existence

lifeˈ-and-deathˈ adjective

1. Critical
2. Determining or affecting whether someone lives or dies

life annuity noun

A sum paid to a person yearly during his or her life

life assurance or life insurance noun

Insurance providing a sum of money for a specified beneficiary in the event of the policyholder's death, and sometimes for the policyholder if he or she reaches a specified age

lifeˈbelt noun

1. A buoyant circular belt for keeping a person afloat in water
2. Any aid to survival (figurative)

lifeˈblood noun

1. The blood necessary to life
2. Anything which gives essential strength or life
3. A twitching, eg of the eyelid or lip (archaic)

lifeˈboat noun

1. A boat for saving people in trouble at sea
2. A measure taken in an attempt to save a business, financial operation, etc (figurative; also often as adjective)

lifeˈboatman noun

lifeˈbuoy noun

A float for supporting a person in the water until he or she can be rescued

life class noun

An art class in which the students draw or paint the human body from a live model

life coach noun

A person whose job is to advise clients on how to achieve success and happiness

life cycle noun

1. The round of changes in the life and generations of an organism, from zygote to zygote (biology)
2. The various stages in the life or development of anything, eg a manufactured product (figurative)

lifeˈ-estateˈ noun

An estate held during the life of the possessor

life expectancy noun

The length of time which any living organism can reasonably be expected to remain alive

lifeˈ-forceˈ noun

A directing principle supposed to be inherent in living things, turning their activities to nature's own purposes

lifeˈ-giving adjective

1. Imparting life
2. Invigorating

lifeˈguard noun

1. A person employed to rescue bathers in difficulties
2. A bodyguard

Life Guards plural noun

Two troops of cavalry, first so called in 1685, amalgamated in 1922 and forming, with the Royal Horse Guards, the Household Cavalry

life history noun

1. The history of a (person's, plant's, animal's, etc) life
2. The succession of changes from zygote to maturity and death
3. The life cycle

lifeˈhold adjective

Held for life

life instinct noun

(in psychoanalysis) the instinct for self-preservation and reproduction

life insurance see life assurance above.

lifeˈ-inˈterest noun

An interest lasting during a life

life jacket noun

A buoyant jacket for keeping a person afloat in water, a lifebelt

lifeˈline noun

1. A rope for saving or safeguarding life
2. A line used by a diver for signalling
3. A vital means of communication
4. A line on the palm of the hand, taken as showing how long a person will live (palmistry)

lifeˈlong adjective

Lasting throughout one's life

lifeˈmanship noun (facetious; title of humorous book by Stephen Potter, 1950)

The art of making the other person feel inferior, of placing oneself at an advantage

lifeˈ-morˈtar noun

A mortar for throwing a line to a ship in distress

life peer noun

A peer whose title is not hereditary

life peerage noun

life peeress noun

A woman who receives a peerage which cannot be handed down to heirs

lifeˈ-preservˈer noun

1. An apparatus for saving someone from drowning
2. A club or cosh

life raft noun

A raft kept on board a ship for use in an emergency

lifeˈ-renˈdering adjective (Shakespeare)

Yielding up life

lifeˈ-rent noun (Scots law)

A right to use for life

lifeˈ-renter noun

A person who enjoys a life-rent (also fem lifeˈ-rentrix)

• last-minute
• last offices
• last out
• last post
• last posts
• last rites
• lasts
• last straw
• last straws
• last thing
• last word
• last words
• lat
• lat.
• Lat.
• Latakia
• latch
• latched
• latches
• latchet
• latchets
• latching
• latchkey
• latchkey child
• latchkey children