life peer

American

noun

British.

a peer whose title ceases at death; nonhereditary peer.

life peer British

noun

a peer whose title lapses at his death

"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 peer

First recorded in 1865–70

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.

See Examples For:

life peer

Archer was made a life peer in 1992 but his political career was paused in 2001 when he was jailed for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

He was created a life peer, Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook, and - having done so much to pave the way for New Labour - promptly became one of its most visible critics.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

Alongside her career as a football executive, Brady has spent 16 years as Lord Alan Sugar's assistant on BBC show The Apprentice and entered the House of Lords as a life peer in 2014.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

Lord Offord, who founded investment firm Badenoch and Co, was made a life peer in 2021 under Boris Johnson.

From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025

In 1893 he was raised to the bench as a lord justice of appeal, and in the next year was made a lord of appeal in ordinary and a life peer.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

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