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

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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

The main culprit for Michigan’s high auto-insurance costs is its unique requirement that drivers purchase unlimited, lifetime medical benefits. — WSJ, "States Put the Brakes on Car-Insurance Prices," 21 May 2019 Unfortunately, the rates of infant and childhood mortality were higher during Margaret Tudor's lifetime, and five of her children, including her first son, James, the Duke of Rothesay, died before the age of 2. — Liz Cantrell, Town & Country, "How Margaret Tudor Became One of the Most Influential Queens in British History," 20 May 2019 Joe Raedle/Getty Images Widespread, sustained disasters like drought, wildfire, and flooding will affect virtually every human on the planet within their lifetimes, according to a dire new assessment of the global impacts of climate change. — Alissa Walker, Curbed, "Cities have 15 months to reverse climate change, says new report," 8 Oct. 2018 Man jumps in, gets tangled in debris, officials say Missouri hikers were on 'trip of a lifetime' in Alaska. — Joe Marusak, charlotteobserver, "Boy falls 30-60 feet down a steep NC waterfall — and lived," 10 July 2018 Kanye West is very kind and has given me the opportunity of a lifetime. — Bianca Mercado, Billboard, "070 Shake on Working With Pusha-T, Kanye West's Tweets, and How Music Helps Her With Depression," 8 June 2018 But thanks to Senate Republicans and his lifetime appointment to the bench, Time will have decades to recognize that influence. — Abby Gardner, Glamour, "The Time 100 List Includes Both Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh—and People Have Thoughts," 17 Apr. 2019 According to the College Scorecard, university graduates on average earn $1 million more over their lifetimes than high school graduates. — Chuck Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "The State of American Trade Schools," 13 Mar. 2019 The Constitution provides Justices with lifetime appointments precisely to insulate them from political considerations. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Behind the Supreme Court’s Dodge," 12 Dec. 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.