quality of life

noun phrase

: overall enjoyment of life : general well-being

… the male characters on the show not only have a better chance of survival; they're also more likely to improve their quality of life through friendship.

—Juliet Lapidos

specifically : the degree to which a person or group is healthy, comfortable, and able to enjoy the activities of daily living

Migraine is a common disorder that can severely affect patients' quality of life and daily function.

—New England Journal of Medicine

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

A number of recent surveys have identified noise as New York City's greatest quality-of-life issue.

—Tom Vanderbilt

—abbreviation QOL

Examples of quality of life in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The quality of life is way more difficult than being able to pencil in a Skubal, a [Blake] Snell, a [Yoshinobu Yamamoto], and a [Tyler Glasnow. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026

My aims are to improve our quality of life on everything from affordability to traffic to public safety; to restore fiscal sanity to our public finances; and to end the brazen self-dealing that has become business as usual in local government. — Miami Herald Staff, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026

Stein said North Carolina has ranked among the nation’s top two states for business for six consecutive years, driven by its strong workforce, business-friendly climate, top-tier schools, quality of life and people. — Charlotte Observer, 29 Sep. 2026

Retirement Living ranked all 50 states for retirees by analyzing each one on its quality of life, affordability and economic strength. — Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quality of life

• afterlife
• pocketknife
• alewife
• birdlife
• folklife
• housewife
• jackknife
• midlife
• midwife
• nightlife
• penknife
• wildlife