life cycle

noun

1. Biology.,  the continuous sequence of changes undergone by an organism from one primary form, as a gamete, to the development of the same form again.

2. a series of stages, as childhood and middle age, that characterize the course of existence of an individual, group, or culture.

3. any similar series of stages.

   the life cycle of a manufactured product.

life cycle

noun

1. the series of changes occurring in an animal or plant between one development stage and the identical stage in the next generation

life cycle

1. The series of changes in the growth and development of an organism from its beginning as an independent life form to its mature state in which offspring are produced. In simple organisms, such as bacteria, the life cycle begins when an organism is produced by fission and ends when that organism in turn divides into two new ones. In organisms that reproduce sexually, the life cycle may be thought of as beginning with the fusion of reproductive cells to form a new organism. The cycle ends when that organism produces its own reproductive cells, which then begin the cycle again by undergoing fusion with other reproductive cells. The life cycles of plants, algae, and many protists often involve an alternation between a generation of organisms that reproduces sexually and another that reproduces asexually.

2. See more at alternation of generations

Word History and Origins

Origin of life cycle¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

The study, titled "Comparative life cycle assessment of bamboo-containing and wood-based hygiene tissue: Implications of fiber sourcing and conversion technologies," was published in Cleaner Environmental Systems.

Read more on Science Daily

The insurer’s integrated finance, health and insurance ecosystem creates new opportunities across customers’ financial life cycles, the analysts write in a note.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"This contributes to our broader understanding of the most massive structures in the Universe and their life cycles, which helps us grasp more about their vast complexities and history of star formation."

Read more on Science Daily

The company has said the animals were well treated, and the deaths were part of the natural life cycle.

Read more on BBC

Kilpatrick, a research assistant professor at Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, is an expert on the life cycles of massive stars.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• biological clock