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

Is this a problem that is going to continue to get worse over our lifetimes? — Tom Benning, Dallas News, "All 3,520 words spoken by Julián Castro and Beto O'Rourke at first Democratic presidential debate," 27 June 2019 On average, Americans who complete only high school earn some $1 million less over their lifetimes than college grads. — Michael Solon, WSJ, "Who Pays for Student-Debt Forgiveness?," 26 June 2019 Is this a problem that is going to continue to get worse over our lifetimes? — Time Staff, Time, "Here's Everything the Candidates Said at Wednesday's 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate," 11 May 2019 Down the road, the cost of operating the carrier over its remaining lifetime was estimated at $20 billion over 25 years. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Navy Won’t Retire the USS Truman Early," 1 May 2019 Doing so wires the brain for retention, because words are labels for clusters of experiences acquired over a lifetime. — Quanta Magazine, "How the Brain Links Gestures, Perception and Meaning," 25 Mar. 2019 Not only that, but women make less money over their lifetimes. — Ellen Sheng, Marie Claire, "Women Need to Think About Investing Differently Than Men," 30 Jan. 2019 Over his lifetime, Reynolds appeared in nearly 200 films. — Fox News, "FOX NEWS FIRST: Trump says anonymous NY Times op-ed backfired; Kavanaugh hearings could wrap up Friday," 7 Sep. 2018 As Camille von Kaenel at E&E News observed: The Obama EPA estimated that the rule’s requirement that gliders use modern engines in 2018 alone would have prevented between 350 and 1,600 premature deaths over the lifetime of the vehicles. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "Scott Pruitt gave “super polluting” trucks a gift on his last day at the EPA," 8 July 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.