lifelong
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of lifelong
Explanation
Something lifelong lasts your entire life, or for most of it. A lifelong friendship might have begun in kindergarten, and it continues today. You can describe your grandfather as a lifelong Republican if he's voted for the Republican candidate in every election all through his life. You could also say you have a lifelong hatred of green vegetables if you've refused broccoli and spinach since you first ate solid food. The word lifelong, meaning "continuing for a lifetime," was coined in the nineteenth century.
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.
Children aged 17 or younger now face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes, since it will be illegal for shops to sell tobacco to anyone born after 1 January 2009.
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026
Ostensibly, there was no reason for a childless adult like me to watch it — unless said adult also happened to be a lifelong anime fan.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026
In his late 50s, Rutte was a lifelong student of the indispensability of American power.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
The area last week was surrounded by surveillance cameras and patrolled by National Guardsmen as lifelong resident John Cates strolled the area.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
The two women remained lifelong friends, and their correspondence continued until Eleanor’s death in 1962.
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
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.
