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.
Lifelong Angels fan Johnny Gonzalez has reached his boiling point as the team sits at the bottom of the standings, but he’s not giving up.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026
"Lifelong friendships are what really hold it together," Fey told AFP at a premier for the new season, which drops on May 28.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Lifelong friends John Carberry and Brian Symington have spent the past 40 years working tirelessly to promote sign language in NI.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Lifelong Middletown resident Ian Reddinger, 37, recalls relatives telling war stories about surviving the accident, but the businessman and borough council member now looks forward to a promised economic upswing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025
O, block by block, with sore and sharp endeavor, Lifelong we build these human natures up Into a temple fit for freedom's shrine, And Trial ever consecrates the cup Wherefrom we pour her sacrificial wine.
From Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole by Lowell, James Russell
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.
