lifer

[ lahy-fer ]
See synonyms for lifer on Thesaurus.com
nounSlang.
  1. a person sentenced to or serving a term of life imprisonment.

  2. a person committed to a professional lifetime career in the military.

  1. a person who has devoted a lifetime to a profession, occupation, or pursuit.

  2. (in birding)

    • Also called life bird . a species of bird not seen previously and that will therefore be added to the bird watcher's life list.

    • the sighting of a bird of a previously unseen species: It seems like forever since I've had a lifer!

Origin of lifer

1
First recorded in 1820–30; life + -er1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lifer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lifer

lifer

/ (ˈlaɪfə) /


noun
  1. informal a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012