lifeblood

noun

life·​blood ˈlīf-ˈbləd 

-ˌbləd

1

: blood regarded as the seat of vitality

2

: a vital or life-giving force or component

freedom of inquiry is the lifeblood of a university

Example Sentences

The town's lifeblood has always been its fishing industry.

The neighborhoods are the lifeblood of this city.

the lifeblood that flows through his veins

Recent Examples on the Web

While single-ticket sales are important, Bennett said subscribers are the future lifeblood of the company because many subscribers become loyal donors. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2023

There are also more modern exhibitions about surf culture and the role of the river and the sea in Bilbao’s development, as well as what’s being done in the city to adapt to global warming and preserve the ecosystem that’s been its lifeblood. —Andrew Ferren, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2023

Applications are the lifeblood of almost any business in a digital world. —Kris Beevers, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023

A couple weeks later, in mid-February, fresh retail sales data blew past economist expectations, suggesting resilient consumer spending, the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 2 Mar. 2023

Small-scale lavender-oil production is the lifeblood for many in Provence, a region of France popular with tourists, along the Mediterranean Sea. —Lucy Papachristou, WSJ, 7 Aug. 2022

The proposed North Big Bear Landscape Restoration Project also calls for building 47 miles of new e-bike trails in the area, a tactic aimed at attracting enough outdoor-minded urbanites to alleviate congestion on the south side of the lake, where tourism is both the community’s lifeblood and bane. —Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2022

Strong will play a public-minded doctor in a small town who discovers the water supply for the public spa is contaminated and may have made tourists — the community’s economic lifeblood — ill. —Mark Kennedy, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023

Her beautiful creation of the character provides the dramedy, which also stars contenders Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, the lifeblood and emotional backbone needed to navigate the series successfully. —Clayton Davis, Variety, 27 Apr. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

lifeblood

noun

life·​blood ˈlīf-ˈbləd 

: something that gives strength and energy