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while there's life there's hope

while there's life there's hope idiom

Also, where there's life there's hope. So long as someone or something ailing is alive, there is hope for recovery. For example, The company has survived previous recessions; while there's life there's hope. A statement made about dying individuals since ancient times, it was cited in numerous proverb collections from 1539 on. Today it is also applied to inanimate matters.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.