lifer

noun

lif·​er ˈlī-fər 

1

: a person sentenced to imprisonment for life

2

: a person who makes a career of one of the armed forces

3

: a person who has made a lifelong commitment (as to a way of life)

Examples of lifer in a Sentence

He was a lifer at the factory.

Recent Examples on the Web

And then there were Eastside lifers like 77-year-old Ross Valencia, who attended Stevenson just like his father and stood in line for two hours to secure a seat. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026

Interim manager Andy Green, a baseball lifer, had never seen anything like it. — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026

As in current Heat assistant coach Caron Butler, a seeming Heat lifer throughout. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 June 2026

These guys are lifers, true believers, a family affair. — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lifer

• cipher
• cypher
• fifer
• heifer
• pfeiffer
• decipher