What does "life" mean?
The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living.
Life
/laɪf/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living.
- Grammar: life is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: lifespan, lifetime, activator, activity.
- Useful contrasts: dead status, more nonlife, abioticness.
- Usage evidence: I can't live that kind of life.
How to use "life"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "life" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "life" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "life" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "life" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "life" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "lifespan" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "life", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living. uncountable, usually
"I want my kids to live a good life. He gave up on life."
- 2 living things collectively wordnet
- 3 The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living.; The status possessed by any of a number of entities, including animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and sometimes viruses, which have the properties of replication and metabolism. uncountable, usually
- 4 animation and energy in action or expression wordnet
- 5 The animating principle or force that keeps an inorganic thing or concept metaphorically alive (dynamic, relevant, etc) and makes it a "living document", "living constitution", etc. uncountable, usually
"The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience."
Show 35 more definitions
- 6 the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities wordnet
- 7 Lifeforms, generally or collectively. uncountable, usually
"It's life, but not as we know it. She discovered plant life on the planet. The rover discovered signs of life on the alien world."
- 8 an account of the series of events making up a person's life wordnet
- 9 A living being; the fact of a particular individual being alive. (Chiefly when indicating individuals were lost (died) or saved.) countable, usually
"Many lives were lost during the war. Her quick thinking saved many dogs' lives."
- 10 a motive for living wordnet
- 11 Existence. uncountable, usually
"Life is meaningless and we are all going to die."
- 12 a living person wordnet
- 13 Existence.; A worthwhile existence. uncountable, usually
"He gets up early in the morning, works all day long — even on weekends — and hardly sees his family. That's no life! His life was ruined by drugs."
- 14 the organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms from nonliving ones wordnet
- 15 Existence.; A particular aspect of existence. uncountable, usually
"He struggled to balance his family life, social life and work life."
- 16 the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living wordnet
- 17 Existence.; Social life. informal, uncountable, usually
"Get a life."
- 18 the condition of living or the state of being alive wordnet
- 19 Existence.; Something which is inherently part of a person's existence, such as job, family, a loved one, etc. uncountable, usually
"She's my love, my life. Running the bakery is her life."
- 20 a characteristic state or mode of living wordnet
- 21 A period of time during which something has existence.; The period during which one (a person, an animal, a plant; a civilization, species; a star; etc) is alive. uncountable, usually
"“My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”"
- 22 the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death) wordnet
- 23 A period of time during which something has existence.; The span of time during which an object operates. uncountable, usually
"Even if the bill's life is brief, the member who introduced it can still campaign as its champion."
- 24 the period between birth and the present time wordnet
- 25 A period of time during which something has existence.; The period of time during which an object is recognizable. uncountable, usually
"The life of this milk carton may be thousands of years in this landfill."
- 26 the period from the present until death wordnet
- 27 A period of time during which something has existence.; A particular phase or period of existence. uncountable, usually
"This would require that reproductive cells do not exist early on but rather are produced during the organism's adult life from the gemules sent from the various organs."
- 28 a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives wordnet
- 29 A period of time during which something has existence.; A period extending from a when a (positive or negative) office, punishment, etc is conferred on someone until that person dies (or, sometimes, reaches retirement age). uncountable, usually
"Typically, an appointed judge is appointed for life."
- 30 A period of time during which something has existence.; A period extending from a when a (positive or negative) office, punishment, etc is conferred on someone until that person dies (or, sometimes, reaches retirement age).; A life sentence; a period of imprisonment that lasts until the convict's death (or, sometimes, parole). colloquial, uncountable, usually
- 31 Animation; spirit; vivacity. uncountable, usually
"No notion of life and fire in fancy and in words."
- 32 Animation; spirit; vivacity.; The most lively component or participant. uncountable, usually
""Don't I know that it is you who is the life of this house. Two delightful children!""
- 33 A biography. uncountable, usually
"His life of the founder is finished, except for the title."
- 34 Nature, reality, and the forms that exist in it. uncountable, usually
"The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator."
- 35 An opportunity for existence. uncountable, usually
"The photo book represented my promise to her—a new life—and she desperately clung to that promise."
- 36 An opportunity for existence.; One of the player's chances to play, lost when the player's character dies or when certain mistakes are made. uncountable, usually
"Scoring 1000 points is rewarded with an extra life."
- 37 An opportunity for existence.; A chance for the batter (or batting team) to bat again, given as a result of a misplay by a member of the fielding team. uncountable, usually
"Borda sent a hot liner to G. Kugler, who made a nifty pick-up, but threw wild at first, giving the batter a life."
- 38 An opportunity for existence.; One of a player's chances to play in various children's playground games, lost when a mistake is made, for example being struck by the ball in dodgeball. uncountable, usually
- 39 The life insurance industry. uncountable, usually
"I work in life."
- 40 A life assured under a life assurance policy (equivalent to the policy itself for a single life contract). countable, usually
"He renewed two lives which had dropped."
Verb
- 1 To replace components whose operational lifetime has expired.
"Now, the aim of the design is to extract more cycles from the component under study, at each new engine generation requirements are driving a reduction in the margin for the error, as parts cannot stand any drop in properties. Thus, the lifing procedures are refined by means of new models or additional specific testing for limiting features to increase the life of the components; […]"
Intj
- 1 Synonym of God's life (an oath). obsolete
Proper Noun
- 1 God.
"Then one deep love doth supersede All other, when her ardent gaze Roves from the living brother’s face, And rests upon the Life indeed."
- 2 A surname.
- 3 Conway's Game of Life.
"Basically, I'm looking for a fast (the fastest?) way of updating grids, where each cell has to look at an arbitrary number of its neighbors. I've seen some fast life-programs, but often they took advantage of particular quirks of the rules of Life."
Antonyms
Example
"I can't live that kind of life."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "life"?
Common synonyms include: lifespan, lifetime, activator, activity, adamite, adventure.
How do you use "life" in a sentence?
I can't live that kind of life.
How do you pronounce "life"?
Pronounced /laɪf/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lyf, from Old English līf, from Proto-West Germanic *līb, from Proto-Germanic *lībą (“life, body”), from *lībaną (“to remain, stay, be left”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, glue”). Cognate with Scots life, leif (“life”), Saterland Frisian Lieuw (“body”), West Frisian liif (“body”), Cimbrian laip (“body”), Dutch lijf (“body”) and leven (“life”), German Leib (“body; womb”) and Leben (“life”), Low German Lief (“body; life”), Luxembourgish Leif, Läif (“body”), Vilamovian łaowa (“life”), Yiddish לײַב (layb, “body”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish liv (“life; waist”), Faroese lív (“life”), Icelandic líf (“life”). Related to belive. The sense "biography" is likely a semantic loan from Medieval Latin vīta (“biography; hagiography”).
Etymology 2
Variant of Leaf.