life history

noun

1

: a history of the changes through which an organism passes in its development from the primary stage to its natural death

2

: the history of an individual or thing

Examples of life history in a Sentence

studying the life history of bears

Recent Examples on the Web

Each whale gets a four-digit catalog number and some are also named. Reviewing the life histories of the season's 19 whale moms offers a glimpse into their perilous existence. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 25 May 2024

Cottee uses qualitative interview data from 35 ex-Muslims in the United Kingdom and Canada to examine their religious life histories, focusing on their transition from belief, to non-belief, and eventually to renunciation. —Darren E. Sherkat, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2015

But, in this piece, the interviews take a back seat, with just a few snippets of Jones’ life history thrown in: this essay is on friendship. —Longreads, 16 May 2024

These scientists may excise small pieces of the specimen (to be preserved and returned) to analyze its DNA, parse the molecular isotopes inside its body to study its life history, put it through a CT scanner, or examine it with any number of other high-tech techniques. —Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

life history

noun

1

: a history of the changes through which a living thing passes in its development from the first stage to its natural death

2

: life cycle sense 1

Medical Definition

life history

noun

1

a

: a history of the changes through which an organism passes in its development from the primary stage to its natural death

b

: one series of the changes in a life history

2

: the history of an individual's development in his or her social environment