lifer

[lahy-fer]

See more synonyms for lifer on Thesaurus.com

noun Slang.

a person sentenced to or serving a term of life imprisonment.
a person committed to a professional lifetime career in the military.
a person who has devoted a lifetime to a profession, occupation, or pursuit.

(in birding)
1. Also called life bird.a species of bird not seen previously and that will therefore be added to the bird watcher's life list.
2. the sighting of a bird of a previously unseen species: It seems like forever since I've had a lifer!

Origin of lifer

First recorded in 1820–30; life + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for lifer

organic, hostage, convict, captive, detainee, delinquent, lawbreaker, offender, tough, culprit, lag, loser, con, jailbird, lifer, internee, yardbird, malefactor, outlaw, life

Examples from the Web for lifer

Contemporary Examples of lifer

The report reveals some disturbing trends in the current lifer prison population, Nellis says.
New Sentencing Project Report Reveals Scary Increase in Life Sentences
Eliza Shapiro
September 19, 2013
But that means a significant portion of the lifer population is behind bars for a non-homicide, Nellis points out.
New Sentencing Project Report Reveals Scary Increase in Life Sentences
Eliza Shapiro
September 19, 2013
They get more mail, by far, than a lifer or your average inmate coming home.
Death-Row Pen Pals
Deidre Depke
November 20, 2009

Historical Examples of lifer

Hunder'd'n One—lifer—plays off crazy—forty lashes every Monday.
The Ape, the Idiot & Other People
W. C. Morrow
Up the beach we chased, and dragged out the boat we called our ‘Lifer.’
The Motor Girls on Crystal Bay
Margaret Penrose
The djinn was in for a lifer, and was immortal; so thought Challis to himself.
It Never Can Happen Again
William De Morgan
A lifer, an' hasn't a friend in th' woild, but he's happy as th' day's long.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist
Alexander Berkman
If you stay here, you're a marked man; and when you are found tripping it'll be a lifer for you, at the least.
My Friend The Murderer
A. Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for lifer

lifer

noun

informal a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment

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

Word Origin and History for lifer

"prisoner serving a life sentence," 1830, from life (n.).