lifetime

noun

life·time | \ ˈlīf-ˌtīm

Definition of lifetime

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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 : life sense 12

2 : an amount accumulated or experienced in a lifetime a lifetime of regrets

lifetime

adjective

Definition of lifetime (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about lifetime

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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: Noun

In her lifetime, Ginsburg has also defeated colorectal cancer in 1999 and, 10 years later, pancreatic cancer. — Vogue, "Ruth Bader Ginsburg Undergoes Successful Surgery to Remove Cancerous Nodules From Her Lung," 21 Dec. 2018 Pause a moment and think what this could mean Or already has meant In our own lifetime. — Constance Grady, Vox, "The Alice Walker anti-Semitism controversy, explained," 20 Dec. 2018 Lazard surveys energy buildouts that occurred in the previous year and divides the estimated cost of building and operating the plant, including fuel cost estimates, by the amount of energy a particular plant is expected to produce in its lifetime. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "New year, same story: Cost of wind and solar fall below cost of coal and gas," 12 Nov. 2018 But of the 1,171 works Wright created in his lifetime, 660 remain unbuilt. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "Lost Frank Lloyd Wright buildings reimagined in new renderings," 5 Nov. 2018 Those with natal planets in the Eighth House are often attracted to supernatural or occult topics, intense romances, and will likely regenerate often within their lifetime. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "The 12 Astrological Houses: Interpreting Your Birth Chart Beyond the Zodiac," 6 Oct. 2018 Mullaly's find is especially rare, as most shark fossils consist of a single tooth, largely due to sharks constantly losing teeth throughout their lifetime. — Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, "Mega-shark teeth dating back 25 million years discovered at Australian beach," 2 Oct. 2018 About 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. — Barbara Brody, Good Housekeeping, "8 Common Myths About Metastatic Breast Cancer," 11 Sep. 2018 Many people on FreeWill include gifts to a charity or cause that has been important to them in their lifetimes. — Patrick W. Schmitt, Country Living, "Everything Baby Boomers Need to Know About Estate Planning," 17 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lifetime.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.