lifetime
Americannoun
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lifetimes
plural
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the time that the life of someone or something continues; the term of a life.
peace within our lifetime.
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Physics. mean life.
adjective
noun
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the length of time a person or animal is alive
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( as modifier )
a lifetime supply
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the length of time that something functions, is useful, etc
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physics the average time of existence of an unstable or reactive entity, such as a nucleus, excited state, elementary particle, etc; mean life
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lifetime
First recorded in 1175–1225, lifetime is from the Middle English word liftime. See life, time
Explanation
A lifetime is the entire length of time a person or other living thing is alive. After a famous actor dies, she may be fondly remembered for a lifetime of great movie roles. Things that take up most of the duration of a person's life are often described using the word lifetime, like a terrible driver's lifetime ban on holding a driver's license, or a lifetime achievement award for all of your accomplishments. You can also talk about the lifetime of an object, or the length of time it's useful, and use lifetime figuratively, to mean "a very long time."
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:
In 2023, the American Library Assn. awarded the singer-songwriter, book lady and philanthropist its highest honor — lifetime membership — to recognize her lasting impact on literacy and inspiring a love of reading in children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
If you have not used up your lifetime exemption, you would not owe gift tax as a result of this transfer.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
A retired commercial shrimper and oil field worker whose wife drives a school bus, Miller fears having to leave his lifetime home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
A 55-year-old Ballynahinch woman has pleaded guilty to breaching a lifetime anonymity order by posting information likely to reveal the alleged identity of a victim in the Jeffrey Donaldson sex abuse case.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
A lifetime of small talk with the dead had made him hard to spook.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Now, 12 years and many political lifetimes later, they read as quaint and out-of-touch, like a grandfather telling his grandson to never contradict his betters.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
You see it in the professionals, who play better golf than we could play in 30 lifetimes, but then bogey a crucial hole and return to the clubhouse emotionally crushed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
L.A. arts patrons Betty Freeman and Richard Colburn provided important support for Salzburg during their lifetimes that included commissioning new work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
By increasing magnon lifetimes to as much as 18 microseconds, the researchers turned these once fleeting signals into long-lasting carriers of quantum information.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
It feels like a lifetime ago, like several lifetimes.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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.
