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Synonyms

facts of life

British  

plural noun

  1. the details of sexual behaviour and reproduction, esp as told to children

"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
facts of life Idioms  

  1. Knowledge of sexual reproduction, as in Some people feel that the facts of life should not be taught in school. [Late 1800s] Also see birds and the bees.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sooner or later, those feelings — and the economic facts of life — may catch up with the president.

From Salon • Aug. 20, 2025

After hearing the late CBS basketball commentator Billy Packer admonish college coaches to recognize the hot hand phenomenon, a friend of mine sent him my textbook summary of Gilovich’s team’s facts of life.

From Scientific American • Sep. 27, 2023

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure these qualify as the most basic facts of life.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2023

In Buffalo — where frigid temperatures and burrowing through snowstorms are facts of life — the National Weather Service described the coming event as a “once-in-a-generation storm.”

From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2022

As I worked I listened to their talk and perceived its puzzled, wandering, superficial fumbling with the problems and facts of life.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.