WordWeb Online

1. A characteristic state or mode of living
   "social life"; "city life"; "real life"
    
2. The experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
   "he could no longer cope with the complexities of life";
   - living
    
3. The course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living
   "he hoped for a new life in Australia"; "he wanted to live his own life without interference from others"; "get a life!"; "he is trying to rebuild his life"
    
4. The condition of living or the state of being alive
   "while there's life there's hope"; "life depends on many chemical and physical processes";
   - animation, living, aliveness
    
5. The period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)
   "he lived a long and happy life"; "the battery had a short life";
   - lifetime, life-time, lifespan
    
6. The period between birth and the present time
   "I have known him all his life"
    
7. The period from the present until death
   "he appointed himself emperor for life"
    
8. A living person
   "his heroism saved a life"
    
9. Animation and energy in action or expression
   "it was a heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to it";
   - liveliness, spirit, sprightliness
    
10. Living things collectively
    "the oceans are teeming with life"
     
11. The organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms from nonliving ones
    "there is no life on the moon"
     
12. An account of the series of events making up a person's life
    - biography, life story, life history, biog [informal], bio [informal]
     
13. A motive for living
    "pottery was his life"
     
14. A prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives
    "he got life for killing the guard";
    - life sentence

Derived forms: lives

See also: alive, dead, live, lively

Type of: account, animate thing, animation, being, beingness, brio, chronicle, existence, experience, face of the earth, history, individual, invigoration, living thing, mortal, motivation, motive, need, organic phenomenon, period, period of time, person, prison term, sentence, somebody, someone, soul, spiritedness, story, time, time period, time span, vivification

Encyclopedia: Life, liberty, and property