fact of life

noun

1. any aspect of human existence that must be acknowledged or regarded as unalterable.

   Old age is a fact of life.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fact of life¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. facts of life, the facts concerning sex, reproduction, and birth.

   to teach children the facts of life.

Example Sentences

With the ongoing shutdown of the federal government, travelers are starting to find that flight delays and cancellations are becoming a fact of life.

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Another traveller, Paul Weallans, described the strikes as "a fact of life in London" and hoped a resolution would "not be a long time coming".

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To most people, the nation’s vaccine system feels like a solid, reliable fact of life, doling out shots to children like clockwork.

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By October 2020, Tucker Carlson of Fox News was sounding this message, declaring, "At some point we are all going to die. Dying is the central fact of life," and suggesting that was reason enough to pull back all public health measures.

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Now, almost a decade later, Republican hostility toward mainstream news media is treated as a fact of life.

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