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Synonyms

life expectancy

American  

noun

  1. the probable number of years remaining in the life of an individual or class of persons determined statistically, affected by such factors as heredity, physical condition, nutrition, and occupation.

life expectancy British  

noun

  1. Also called: expectation of life.  the statistically determined average number of years of life remaining after a specified age for a given group of individuals

"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

Etymology

Origin of life expectancy

First recorded in 1930–35

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.

He arrived at the prison with a life expectancy of "weeks to a couple of months".

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

It’s the same tool that insurance actuaries use to calculate life expectancy, adapted to estimate how long a typical player might expect to play in the WNBA.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

It is incurable, with a median life expectancy of 12 to 18 months—in other words, a death sentence.

From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026

One problem, as Fronstin puts it, is that “average” life expectancy doesn’t really help any individual very much — half of people will live longer than the average, and some will live much longer.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026

“That poor family…Those pilots go up there day after day to fight off the German attacks. Did you hear that the average life expectancy for a Spitfire pilot is just four weeks?”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

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.