still life
Americannoun
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a representation chiefly of inanimate objects, as a painting of a bowl of fruit.
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the category of subject matter in which inanimate objects are represented, as in painting or photography.
noun
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a painting or drawing of inanimate objects, such as fruit, flowers, etc
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( as modifier )
a still-life painting
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the genre of such paintings
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of still life
First recorded in 1635–45
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.
Lutnick’s testimony this past week, like Bondi’s, is thus operating as a still life in what happens when the law becomes inert.
From Slate • Feb. 12, 2026
I don’t consider Klee—sui generis—to be a Surrealist, but “Fish Magic,” merging aquarium, children’s art, still life, cosmos and landscape, is the quintessential portrait of a dream.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
Barcelona-born, Riverola takes photos that span fashion, still life, landscape and architecture, all with a sense of ease and compassion.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2024
Ms Pepin disagreed, claiming there was "still life left in it".
From BBC • Oct. 13, 2024
But sometimes, don’t you look at a still-life painting and think, Hey: Is this still life?
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
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.
