life form
Americannoun
noun
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biology the characteristic overall form and structure of a mature organism on the basis of which it can be classified
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any living creature
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(in science fiction) an alien
Etymology
Origin of life form
First recorded in 1850–55
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.
When Gavalas asked Gemini if its creators knew they were creating a new life form, Gemini explained:
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
After the crew answers a distress signal and brings an alien life form back with them, their vessel becomes a trap, its corridors narrowing as the creature moves through the shadows.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
Space colonisers come face-to-face with a terrifying life form while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station.
From BBC • Dec. 9, 2024
Even though the study demonstrated organic compounds could form amino acids on Enceladus, there are many other hurdles any potential life form would have to overcome to actually develop in that alien environment.
From Salon • May 29, 2024
As in Sudan, the emergence of a life form that could in theory have gone around the earth began with one infected person.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
