lifework

American  

[lahyf-wurk] / ˈlaɪfˈwɜrk /

noun

1. the complete or principal work, labor, or task of a lifetime.

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Etymology

Origin of lifework

First recorded in 1870–75; life + work

Example Sentences

Music was the springboard for Harry Belafonte’s lifework: a career that leveraged cultural recognition toward political goals, and that recognized artistic achievements as both pleasures in themselves and symbols to wield.

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2023

Wiener’s lifework and his failure to predict its consequences are intimately bound up in the idea of an impending technological singularity.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2019

Since this has become sort of my lifework over the last two and a half years I have to wake up every morning optimistic.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2019

"They feel that Disney is undoing their lifework of conserving wild animals for future open seasons."

From Time • Aug. 8, 2017

Now tell me why we have no papers, no printed materials written by this great artist about his lifework?

From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett