life
Life is defined as the quality of plants and animals that makes them different than dead organisms, or a collection of things that are alive.
(noun)- An example of life is a person who is breathing, walking and talking.
- An example of life is a plant with green leaves still rooted in the ground.
- An example of life is all the plants living in a pond.
The definition of life is a lifetime.
(adjective)An example of life is the prison sentence that Charles Manson is serving.
See life in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun pl. lives
- that property or quality of plants and animals that distinguishes them from inorganic matter or dead organisms; specif., the cellular biochemical activity or processes of an organism, characterized by the ingestion of nutrients, the storage and use of energy, the excretion of wastes, growth, reproduction, etc.
- this activity, or the state of possessing this property: brought back to life
- a living being, esp. a human being: the lives lost in wars
- living things collectively, often of a specified kind: plant life
- the time a person or thing is alive or exists, or a specific portion of such time: his early life
- a sentence of imprisonment for the rest of one's life
- one's manner of living: a life of ease
- the activities of a given time or in a given setting, and the people who take part in them: military life
- lives considered together as belonging to a certain class or type: high life
- an individual's animate existence
- an account of this; biography
- a specific aspect of an individual's activities: her love life
- the existence of the soul: eternal life
- something essential to the continued existence of something else: freedom of speech is the life of democracy
- the source of vigor or liveliness: the life of the party
- vigor; liveliness; animation; vivacity
- the period of flourishing, usefulness, etc.; period during which anything lasts: fads have a short life
- another chance
- Fine Arts
- a lifelike quality or appearance
- representation from living models: a class in life
Origin: ME < OE līf, akin to ON líf, life, Ger leib, body < IE base *leibh-, to live
adjective
- for a lifetime: a life sentence
- of or relating to the property of life: life processes
- using live models: a life class in art
See life in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun pl. lives lives (līvz)
- a. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.b. The characteristic state or condition of a living organism.
- Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life.
- A living being, especially a person: an earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives.
- The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: the artistic life of a writer.
- a. The interval of time between birth and death: She led a good, long life.b. The interval of time between one's birth and the present: has had hay fever all his life.c. A particular segment of one's life: my adolescent life.d. The period from an occurrence until death: elected for life; paralyzed for life.e. Slang A sentence of imprisonment lasting till death.
- The time for which something exists or functions: the useful life of a car.
- A spiritual state regarded as a transcending of corporeal death.
- An account of a person's life; a biography.
- Human existence, relationships, or activity in general: real life; everyday life.
- a. A manner of living: led a hard life.b. A specific, characteristic manner of existence. Used of inanimate objects: “Great institutions seem to have a life of their own, independent of those who run them” (New Republic).c. The activities and interests of a particular area or realm: musical life in New York.
- a. A source of vitality; an animating force: She's the life of the show.b. Liveliness or vitality; animation: a face that is full of life.
- a. Something that actually exists regarded as a subject for an artist: painted from life.b. Actual environment or reality; nature.
- Of or relating to animate existence; involved in or necessary for living: life processes.
- Continuing for a lifetime; lifelong: life partner; life imprisonment.
- Using a living model as a subject for an artist: a life sculpture.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English
Origin: , from Old English līf; see leip- in Indo-European roots
.See life in Ologies
Life
Biology. the production of living organisms from inanimate matter. Also called spontaneous generation. —abiogenetic, adj.
a state or condition in which life is absent. —abiotic, abiotical, adj.
a revival or return to a living state after apparent death. —anabiotic, adj.
athanasia
immortality.
the study of the chemical processes that take place in living organisms. —biochemist, n. —biochemical, adj.
1. the process by which living organisms develop from other living organisms.
2. the belief that this process is the only way in which living organisms can develop. —biogenetic, biogenic, adj.
the science or study of all manner of life and living organisms. —biologist, n. —biological, adj.
the destruction of life, as by bacteria. —biolytic, adj.
1. the calculation of the probable extent of human lifespans.
2. the application to biology of mathematical and statistical theory and methods. —biometric, biometrical, adj.
that part of the earth’s surface where most forms of life exist, specifically those parts where there is water or atmosphere.
Philosophy. the theory or doctrine that all the phenomena of the universe, especially life, can ultimately be explained in terms of physics and chemistry and that the difference between organic and inorganic lies only in degree. Cf. vitalism. —mechanist, n. —mechanistic, adj.
ontogeny. —ontogenetic, ontogenetical, adj.
the life cycle, development, or developmental history of an organism. Also called ontogenesis. —ontogenic, adj.
Biology. the development of an egg or seed without fertilization. Also called unigenesis. —parthenogenetic, adj.
the branch of biology that studies the functions and vital processes of living organisms. —physiologist, n. —physiologic, physiological, adj.
abiogenesis.
unigenesis
asexual reproduction; parthenogenesis. —unigenetic, adj.
1. Philosophy. the doctrine that phenomena are only partly controlled by mechanistic forces and are in some measure self-determining.
2. Biology. the doctrine that the life in living organisms is caused and sustained by a vital principle that is distinct from all physical and chemical forces. Cf. mechanism. —vitalist, n. —vitalistic, adj.
vitativeness
Phrenology. 1. the love of life and fear of death.
2. the organ serving as the seat of instincts of self-preservation.
zoism
1. Philosophy. a doctrine that the phenomena of life are controlled by a vital principle, as Bergson’s élan vital.
2. a high regard for animal life.
3. a belief in animal magnetism. —zoist, n. —zoistic, adj.
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