womb-to-tomb

[woom-tuh-toom]

adjective

Chiefly British.

1. extending from prebirth to death: said especially of care under Britain's National Health Service.

Word History and Origins

Origin of womb-to-tomb¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Gewen’s book is a thoughtful rumination on human behavior, philosophy and international relations, not a womb-to-tomb biography.

Read more on New York Times

Arthur Miller, writing in 1971, warned that comprehensive “womb-to-tomb” dossiers locked us in “record prisons” that endangered our basic freedoms.

Read more on Forbes