lifer
Americannoun
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a person sentenced to or serving a term of life imprisonment.
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a person committed to a professional lifetime career in the military.
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a person who has devoted a lifetime to a profession, occupation, or pursuit.
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(in birding)
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Also called life bird. a species of bird not seen previously and that will therefore be added to the bird watcher's life list.
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the sighting of a bird of a previously unseen species.
It seems like forever since I've had a lifer!
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noun
Etymology
Origin of lifer
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.
Onstage as on your phone, Dylan was searching for new limits Wednesday — a lifer grinding toward the sublime.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026
Looney, a BP lifer, ended up forgoing as much as $40.6 million in deferred bonuses, salary, pension and other compensation that might have come his way.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
"I know I'm a football fan and a Wrexham lifer because I'm inconsolable when we lose," said Reynolds.
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026
Snead is a scouting and player personnel lifer but also something of a renaissance man.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026
Whether or not she had it planned at the time, Mary Jackson was on her way to becoming a Langley lifer.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
