1
a
: the duration of the existence of a living being (such as a person or an animal) or a thing (such as a star or a subatomic particle)
b
2
: an amount accumulated or experienced in a lifetime
a lifetime of regrets
1
: lifelong
2
: of long duration or continuance
lifetime legislation
3
: measured or achieved over the span of a career
a baseball player's lifetime batting average
Examples of lifetime in a Sentence
Noun
a lifetime spent traveling the world
It would have taken me a lifetime to read all those books.
Childhood seems a lifetime ago now!
a chemical with a lifetime of only a few minutes
the lifetime of a planet
Recent Examples on the Web
Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Under the pact, Legion M will work with Bleecker to co-finance the film’s distribution and marketing over the entire lifetime of the project.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
Stephan Rabimov, Forbes, 24 May 2021
They are viewed as the most restrictive among the 15 states with consecutive or lifetime legislative term limits.
—David Eggert, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for lifetime
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The investigation resulted in more than 30 indictments and led to prison time for key figures and lifetime bans from the NBA for players involved.
—Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Under the pact, Legion M will work with Bleecker to co-finance the film’s distribution and marketing over the entire lifetime of the project.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Getting an Emmy award is a lifetime dream for many.
—Stephan Rabimov, Forbes, 24 May 2021
They are viewed as the most restrictive among the 15 states with consecutive or lifetime legislative term limits.
—David Eggert, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for lifetime
Cite this Entry
“Lifetime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lifetime. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share