life
(līf)n. pl. lives (līvz)
1.
a. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.
b. The characteristic state or condition of a living organism.
2. Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life.
3. A living being, especially a person: an earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives.
4. The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: the artistic life of a writer.
5.
a. The interval of time between birth and death: She led a good, long life.
b. The interval of time between one's birth and the present: has had hay fever all his life.
c. A particular segment of one's life: my adolescent life.
d. The period from an occurrence until death: elected for life; paralyzed for life.
e. Slang A sentence of imprisonment lasting till death.
6. The time for which something exists or functions: the useful life of a car.
7. A spiritual state regarded as a transcending of corporeal death.
8. An account of a person's life; a biography.
9. Human existence, relationships, or activity in general: real life; everyday life.
10.
a. A manner of living: led a hard life.
b. A specific, characteristic manner of existence. Used of inanimate objects: "Great institutions seem to have a life of their own, independent of those who run them" (New Republic).
c. The activities and interests of a particular area or realm: musical life in New York.
11.
a. A source of vitality; an animating force: She's the life of the show.
b. Liveliness or vitality; animation: a face that is full of life.
12.
a. Something that actually exists regarded as a subject for an artist: painted from life.
b. Actual environment or reality; nature.
adj.
Idioms: 1. Of or relating to animate existence; involved in or necessary for living: life processes.
2. Continuing for a lifetime; lifelong: life partner; life imprisonment.
3. Using a living model as a subject for an artist: a life sculpture.
as big as life
1. Life-size.
2. Actually present.
bring to life
1. To cause to regain consciousness.
2. To put spirit into; animate.
3. To make lifelike.
come to life
To become animated; grow excited.
for dear life
Desperately or urgently: I ran for dear life when I saw the tiger.
for life
Till the end of one's life.
for the life of (one)
Though trying hard: For the life of me I couldn't remember his name.
not on your life Informal
Absolutely not; not for any reason whatsoever.
take (one's) life
To commit suicide.
take (one's) life in (one's) hands
To take a dangerous risk.
take (someone's) life
To commit murder.
the good life
A wealthy, luxurious way of living.
the life of Riley Informal
An easy life.
the life of the party Informal
An animated, amusing person who is the center of attention at a social gathering.
to save (one's) life
No matter how hard one tries: He can't ski to save his life.
true to life
Conforming to reality.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
life
(laɪf)n, pl lives (laɪvz)
1. (Biology) the state or quality that distinguishes living beings or organisms from dead ones and from inorganic matter, characterized chiefly by metabolism, growth, and the ability to reproduce and respond to stimuli.
2. the period between birth and death
3. a living person or being: to save a life.
4. the time between birth and the present time
5.
a. the remainder or extent of one's life
b. (as modifier): a life sentence; life membership; life subscription; life work.
6. (Law) short for life imprisonment
7. the amount of time that something is active or functioning: the life of a battery.
8. a present condition, state, or mode of existence: my life is very dull here.
9. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms)
a. a biography
b. (as modifier): a life story.
10.
a. a characteristic state or mode of existence: town life.
b. (as modifier): life style.
11. the sum or course of human events and activities
12. liveliness or high spirits: full of life.
13. a source of strength, animation, or vitality: he was the life of the show.
14. (Biology) all living things, taken as a whole: there is no life on Mars; plant life.
15. (Brewing) sparkle, as of wines
16. strong or high flavour, as of fresh food
17. (Art Terms) (modifier) arts drawn or taken from a living model: life drawing; a life mask.
18. physics another name for lifetime
19. (Games, other than specified) (in certain games) one of a number of opportunities of participation
20. as large as life informal real and living
21. larger than life in an exaggerated form
22. come to life
a. to become animate or conscious
b. to be realistically portrayed or represented
23. for dear life urgently or with extreme vigour or desperation
24. for the life of one though trying desperately
25. go for your life informal Austral and NZ an expression of encouragement
26. a matter of life and death a matter of extreme urgency
27. not on your life informal certainly not
28. the life and soul informal a person regarded as the main source of merriment and liveliness: the life and soul of the party.
29. the life of Riley informal an easy life
30. to the life (of a copy or image) resembling the original exactly
31. to save one's life informal in spite of all considerations or attempts: he couldn't play football to save his life.
32. the time of one's life a memorably enjoyable time
33. true to life faithful to reality
[Old English līf; related to Old High German lib, Old Norse līf life, body]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
life
(laɪf)n., pl. lives (līvz),
adj. n.
1. the general condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, a means of reproduction, and internal regulation in response to the environment.
2. the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual: to risk one's life; a long life.
3. a corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul: eternal life.
4. the general or universal condition of human existence: Life is like that.
5. any specified period of animate existence: a couple in middle life.
6. the period of existence, activity, or effectiveness of something inanimate, as a machine, lease, or play.
7. a living being: Several lives were lost in the fire.
8. living things collectively: insect life.
9. a particular aspect of existence: an active sex life.
10. the course of existence or sum of experiences and actions that constitute a person's existence.
11. a biography: a life of Willa Cather.
12. animation; liveliness; spirit: The party was full of life.
13. resilience; elasticity.
14. the force that makes or keeps something alive; the vivifying or quickening principle.
15. a mode or manner of existence, as in the world of affairs or society.
16. life sentence.
17. anything or anyone considered to be as precious as life: She was his life.
18. a person or thing that enlivens: the life of the party.
19. effervescence or sparkle, as of wines.
20. pungency or strong, sharp flavor, as of substances when fresh or in good condition.
21. nature or any of the forms of nature as the model or subject of a work of art: drawn from life.
adj. 22. for or lasting a lifetime; lifelong: a life membership in a club; life imprisonment.
23. of or pertaining to animate existence: life functions.
24. working from nature or using a living model: a life drawing.
Idioms: 1. bring to life,
a. to restore to consciousness.
b. to make animated.
c. to imbue with lifelike characteristics.
2. come to life,
a. to recover consciousness.
b. to become animated.
c. to appear lifelike.
3. for dear life, with the most desperate effort possible.
4. for the life of one, even with the utmost effort.
5. get a life, to improve the quality of one's social and professional life: often used in the imperative to express impatience with someone's behavior.
6. not on your life, absolutely not.
7. take one's life in one's hands, to risk death knowingly.
8. to the life, in perfect imitation; exactly.
[before 900; Middle English lif(e); Old English līf, c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old Norse līf, Old High German līb life, body; akin to live1]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
life
(līf)1. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and nonliving matter. Life is shown in an organism that has the ability to grow, carry on metabolism, respond to stimuli, and reproduce.
2. Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Life
Biology. the production of living organisms from inanimate matter. Also called spontaneous generation. — abiogenetic, adj.
a state or condition in which life is absent. — abiotic, abiotical, adj.
a revival or return to a living state after apparent death. — anabiotic, adj.
immortality.
the study of the chemical processes that take place in living organisms. — biochemist, n. — biochemical, adj.
1. the process by which living organisms develop from other living organisms.
2. the belief that this process is the only way in which living organisms can develop. — biogenetic, biogenic, adj.
2. the belief that this process is the only way in which living organisms can develop. — biogenetic, biogenic, adj.
the science or study of all manner of life and living organisms. — biologist, n. — biological, adj.
the destruction of life, as by bacteria. — biolytic, adj.
1. the calculation of the probable extent of human lifespans.
2. the application to biology of mathematical and statistical theory and methods. — biometric, biometrical, adj.
2. the application to biology of mathematical and statistical theory and methods. — biometric, biometrical, adj.
that part of the earth’s surface where most forms of life exist, specifically those parts where there is water or atmosphere.
Philosophy. the theory or doctrine that all the phenomena of the universe, especially life, can ultimately be explained in terms of physics and chemistry and that the difference between organic and inorganic lies only in degree. Cf. vitalism. — mechanist, n. — mechanistic, adj.
ontogeny. — ontogenetic, ontogenetical, adj.
the life cycle, development, or developmental history of an organism. Also called ontogenesis. — ontogenic, adj.
Biology. the development of an egg or seed without fertilization. Also called unigenesis. — parthenogenetic, adj.
the branch of biology that studies the functions and vital processes of living organisms. — physiologist, n. — physiologic, physiological, adj.
abiogenesis.
asexual reproduction; parthenogenesis. — unigenetic, adj.
1. Philosophy. the doctrine that phenomena are only partly controlled by mechanistic forces and are in some measure self-determining.
2. Biology. the doctrine that the life in living organisms is caused and sustained by a vital principle that is distinct from all physical and chemical forces. Cf. mechanism. — vitalist, n. — vitalistic, adj.
2. Biology. the doctrine that the life in living organisms is caused and sustained by a vital principle that is distinct from all physical and chemical forces. Cf. mechanism. — vitalist, n. — vitalistic, adj.
Phrenology. 1. the love of life and fear of death.
2. the organ serving as the seat of instincts of self-preservation.
2. the organ serving as the seat of instincts of self-preservation.
1. Philosophy. a doctrine that the phenomena of life are controlled by a vital principle, as Bergson’s élan vital.
2. a high regard for animal life.
3. a belief in animal magnetism. — zoist, n. — zoistic, adj.
2. a high regard for animal life.
3. a belief in animal magnetism. — zoist, n. — zoistic, adj.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Life
See Also: AGE; LIFE, DEFINED; MANKIND
- (It seemed to him that) all man’s life was like a tiny spurt of flame —Thomas Wolfe
- The art of living rightly is like all arts; it must be learned and practiced with incessant care —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- The eventful life has dates; it swells and pauses like a plot —Paul Theroux
- How ridiculous it [life] all seems … like a drop of water seen through a microscope, a single drop teeming with infusoria, or a speck of cheese full of mites invisible to the naked eye —Arthur Schopenhauer
- In life as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard —Theodore Roosevelt
- Let us play the game of life as sportsmen, pocketing our winnings with a smile, leaving our losings with a shrug —Jerome K. Jerome
- Life … empty as statistics are —Babette Deutsch
- Life … flat and stale, like an old glass of beer —Andre Dubus
- Life folds like a fan with a click —Herbert Read
- Life goes on forever like the gnawing of a mouse —Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Life had been like a cloud rainbowed by the sun —Barbara Reid
- Life imposes by brute energy, like inarticulate thunder; art catches the ear, among the far louder noises of experience, like an air artificially made by a discreet musician —Robert Louis Stevenson
See Also: ART AND LITERATURE
- A life indifferent as a star —Randall Jarrell
- A life is composed of a thousand frail strands, like the rainbow tangle of telphone cables. Somehow, we make connections —Jean Thompson
- Life is shapeless as a glove —Kenneth Koch
See Also: SHAPE
- Life … it slips through my hands like a fish —James Reiss
See Also: ELUSIVENESS
- Life, like a child, laughs shaking its rattle of death as it runs —Rabindranath Tagore
See Also: DEATH
- Life, like a good story, pursues its way from beginning to end in a firm and unbroken line —W. Somerset Maugham
- Life, like every other blessing, derives its value from its use alone —Samuel Johnson
- Life, like war, is a series of mistakes —F.W. Robertson
- Life often seems like a long shipwreck, of which the debris are friendship, glory and love —Madame de Staël
- Life’s bare as a bone —Virginia Woolf
- Life is so like a little strip of pavement over an abyss —Virginia Woolf
- Life should be embraced like a lover —Rose Tremain
- Life’s like an inn where travelers stay, some only breakfast and away; others to dinnerstop, and are full fed; the oldest only sup and go to bed —English epitath
A variation of this, also found on a gravestone, is “Our life is nothing but a winter’s day.”
- Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom —Arthur Schopenhauer
- A life that moved in spirals turned inward like the shell of a sea-snail —Malcolm Cowley
- Life was like [motion] pictures only in that it hardly every managed to be as exciting as its preview —Larry McMurtry
- Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright, the longer we live —Jean Paul Richter
- Like following life through creatures you dissect, you lose it in the moment you detect —Alexander Pope
- To live is like love, all reason is against it, and all healthy instincts for it —Samuel Butler
- Man’s journey through life is like that of a bee through blossoms —Yugoslav proverb
- A man’s life, like a piece of tapestry, is made up of many strands which interwoven make a pattern; to separate a single one and look at it alone, not only destroys the whole, but gives the strand itself a false value —Judge Learned Hand
Judge Hand compared life to a piece of tapestry at the 1912 proceedings in memory of Mr. Justice Brandeis.
- Men deal with life as children with their play, who first misuse, then cast their toys away —William Cowper
- Moved … through her life, like a clumsy visitor in a museum —Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
- Much that goes on behind Life’s doors is not fixed like the pillars of a building nor preconceived like the structure of a symphony, nor calculable like the orbit of a star —Vicki Baum
- My life felt like a fragile silk chemise —Marge Piercy
- My life is like a stroll upon the beach, as near the ocean’s edge as I can go —Henry David Thoreau
- My life is like the autumn leaf that trembles in the moon’s pale ray —Richard Henry Wilde
This begins the second stanza of the poem, My Life.
- My life is like the summer rose that opens to the morning sky, but before the shade of evening closes is scattered on the ground to die —Richard Henry Wilde
Another simile from Wilde’s My Life, this one the opening line.
- My life loose as a frog’s —Maxine Kumin
- Our days on earth are as a shadow —The Holy Bible/Job
- (I worry that) our lives are like soap operas. We can go for months and not tune in to them, then six months later we look in and the same stuff is still going on —Jane Wagner
- Our lives are united like fruit in a bowl —W. H. Auden
- Our lives run like fingers over sandpaper —Jaroslav Seifert
- Perhaps like an ancient statue that has no arms our life, without deeds and heroes, has greater charms —Yehuda Amichai
- Sometimes we do not become adults until we suffer a good whacking loss, and our lives in a sense catch up with us and wash over us like a wave and everything goes —Richard Ford
- The art of life is more like the wrestler’s art than the dancer’s that it should stand ready and firm to meet onsets which are sudden and unexpected —Marcus Aurelius
- There was a dimension missing from his life, as though trees were flat and rooflines painted on the sky —Margaret Sutherland
- The vanity of human life is like a rivulet, constantly passing away, and yet constantly coming on —Alexander Pope
- Viewed from the summit of reason, all life looks like a malignant disease and the world like a madhouse —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Wear life like an old pair of shoes that’s easy on my feet —Ben Ames Williams
- When the highest stake in the game of living, life itself, may not be risked … becomes as flat, as superficial as one of those American flirtations in which it is from the first understood that nothing is to happen, contrasted with a Continental love-affair in which both partners must constantly bear in mind the serious consequences —Sigmund Freud
- Would that life were like the shadow cast by a wall or a tree, but it is like the shadow of a bird in flight —Palestinian Talmud
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  life - a characteristic state or mode of living; "social life"; "city life"; "real life"being, beingness, existence - the state or fact of existing; "a point of view gradually coming into being"; "laws in existence for centuries" ghetto - any segregated mode of living or working that results from bias or stereotyping; "the relative security of the gay ghetto"; "no escape from the ghetto of the typing pool" |
| 2. |  life - the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities; "he could no longer cope with the complexities of life"experience - the content of direct observation or participation in an event; "he had a religious experience"; "he recalled the experience vividly" | |
| 3. | life - the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living; "he hoped for a new life in Australia"; "he wanted to live his own life without interference from others" | |
| 4. |  life - the condition of living or the state of being alive; "while there's life there's hope"; "life depends on many chemical and physical processes"being, beingness, existence - the state or fact of existing; "a point of view gradually coming into being"; "laws in existence for centuries" eternal life, life eternal - life without beginning or end skin - a person's skin regarded as their life; "he tried to save his skin" | |
| 5. | life - the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death); "the battery had a short life"; "he lived a long and happy life" period, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period" birth - the time when something begins (especially life); "they divorced after the birth of the child"; "his election signaled the birth of a new age" demise, dying, death - the time when something ends; "it was the death of all his plans"; "a dying of old hopes" time of life - a period of time during which a person is normally in a particular life state | |
| 6. | life - the period between birth and the present time; "I have known him all his life" period, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period" past - a earlier period in someone's life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret); "reporters dug into the candidate's past" | |
| 7. | life - the period from the present until death; "he appointed himself emperor for life" period, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period" | |
| 8. | life - a living person; "his heroism saved a life" | |
| 9. | life - animation and energy in action or expression; "it was a heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to it" brio, invigoration, spiritedness, vivification, animation - quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous pertness - quality of being lively and confident; "there was a pertness about her that attracted him" alacrity, briskness, smartness - liveliness and eagerness; "he accepted with alacrity"; "the smartness of the pace soon exhausted him" vim, muscularity, vigor, vigour, energy - an imaginative lively style (especially style of writing); "his writing conveys great energy"; "a remarkable muscularity of style" elan - enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness; "a performance of great elan and sophistication" esprit - liveliness of mind or spirit breeziness, jauntiness - a breezy liveliness; "a delightful breeziness of manner" irrepressibility, buoyancy - irrepressible liveliness and good spirit; "I admired his buoyancy and persistent good humor" high-spiritedness - exuberant liveliness | |
| 10. | life - living things collectively; "the oceans are teeming with life" animate thing, living thing - a living (or once living) entity wildlife - all living things (except people) that are undomesticated; "chemicals could kill all the wildlife" | |
| 11. | life - the organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms from nonliving ones; "there is no life on the moon" organic phenomenon - (biology) a natural phenomenon involving living plants and animals biology - characteristic life processes and phenomena of living organisms; "the biology of viruses" aerobiosis - life sustained in the presence of air or oxygen | |
| 12. |  life - an account of the series of events making up a person's lifeaccount, chronicle, history, story - a record or narrative description of past events; "a history of France"; "he gave an inaccurate account of the plot to kill the president"; "the story of exposure to lead" autobiography - a biography of yourself hagiography - a biography that idealizes or idolizes the person (especially a person who is a saint) profile - biographical sketch | |
| 13. | life - a motive for living; "pottery was his life" motivation, motive, need - the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives" | |
| 14. | life - a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives; "he got life for killing the guard" prison term, sentence, time - the period of time a prisoner is imprisoned; "he served a prison term of 15 months"; "his sentence was 5 to 10 years"; "he is doing time in the county jail" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
life
noun
1. being, existence, living, breath, entity, vitality, animation, viability, sentience a newborn baby's first minutes of life
2. living things, creatures, wildlife, organisms, living beings Is there life on Mars?
3. existence, being, lifetime, time, days, course, span, duration, continuance He spent the last fourteen years of his life in retirement.
4. way of life, situation, conduct, behaviour, life style How did you adjust to college life?
5. liveliness, activity, energy, spirit, go (informal), pep, sparkle, vitality, animation, vigour, verve, zest, high spirits, get-up-and-go (informal), oomph (informal), brio, vivacity The town itself was full of life and character.
6. biography, story, history, career, profile, confessions, autobiography, memoirs, life story It was his aim to write a life of John Paul Jones.
7. period of usefulness, existence, duration The repairs did not increase the life of the equipment.
8. spirit, heart, soul, essence, core, lifeblood, moving spirit, vital spark, animating spirit, élan vital (French) He's sucked the life out of her.
9. person, human, individual, soul, human being, mortal a war in which thousands of lives were lost
come to life rouse, revive, awaken, become active, become animate, show signs of life Poems which had seemed dull suddenly came to life.
for dear life (Informal) desperately, quickly, vigorously, urgently, intensely, for all you are worth I made for the raft and clung on for dear life.
give your life lay down your life, die, sacrifice yourself He gave his life to save his family.
that's life that's the way things are, that's it, that's the way the cookie crumbles (informal) 'It might never have happened if she hadn't gone back.' 'That's life.'
Quotations
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,"
"That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,"
"And then is heard no more; it is a tale"
"Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,"
"Signifying nothing" [William Shakespeare Macbeth]
"The unexamined life is not worth living" [Socrates]
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards" [Søren Kierkegaard]
"Life is a comedy to those that think, and a tragedy to those that feel" [Horace Walpole Letter to Anne, Countess of Upper Ossory]
"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot" [Charlie Chaplin]
"Life is long to the miserable, but short to the happy" [Publilius Syrus Sententiae]
"The essence of life is statistical improbability on a colossal scale" [Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker]
"Life exists in the universe only because the carbon atom possesses certain exceptional qualities" [James Jeans The Mysterious Universe]
"Life is an abnormal business" [Eugène Ionesco The Rhinoceros]
"Life is fired at us point blank" [José Ortega y Gasset]
"There is only one minute in which you are alive, this minute - here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle. Which is exactly what it is - a miracle and unrepeatable" [Storm Jameson]
"Look to this day"
"For it is life, the very life of life" The Sufi
"In the time of your life, live - so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world - but shall smile at the infinite delight and mystery of it" [William Saroyan]
"Man is born to live, not to prepare for life" [Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago]
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time; it is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset" [Crowfoot, a great hunter of the Blackfoot Last words]
"Oh, what a day-to-day business life is" [Jules Laforgue Complainte sur certains ennuis]
"Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!" [Friedrich Nietzsche Die fröhliche Wissenschaft]
"Life is just one damned thing after another" [Frank Ward O'Malley]
"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television" [Woody Allen Husbands and Wives]
"Lift not the painted veil which those who live"
"Call Life" [Percy Bysshe Shelley Sonnet]
"Life is one long process of getting tired" [Samuel Butler Notebooks]
"There is no wealth but life" [John Ruskin Unto This Last]
"Every man regards his own life as the New Year's Eve of time" [Jean Paul Richter Levana]
"Life isn't all beer and skittles" [Thomas Hughes Tom Brown's Schooldays]
"Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about" [Oscar Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan]
"The meaning of life is that it stops" [Franz Kafka]
"It is the essence of life that it exists for its own sake" [A.N. Whitehead Nature and Life]
"Old and young, we are all on our last cruise" [Robert Louis Stevenson Virginibus Puerisque]
"Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed" [Dr. Johnson Rasselas]
"'Tis all a chequer-board of nights and days"
"Where Destiny with men for pieces plays;"
"Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays,"
"And one by one back in the closet lays" [Edward Fitzgerald The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám]
"Life is real! Life is earnest!"
"And the grave is not its goal;"
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"
"Was not spoken of the soul" [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow A Psalm of Life]
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,"
"That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,"
"And then is heard no more; it is a tale"
"Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,"
"Signifying nothing" [William Shakespeare Macbeth]
"The unexamined life is not worth living" [Socrates]
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards" [Søren Kierkegaard]
"Life is a comedy to those that think, and a tragedy to those that feel" [Horace Walpole Letter to Anne, Countess of Upper Ossory]
"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot" [Charlie Chaplin]
"Life is long to the miserable, but short to the happy" [Publilius Syrus Sententiae]
"The essence of life is statistical improbability on a colossal scale" [Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker]
"Life exists in the universe only because the carbon atom possesses certain exceptional qualities" [James Jeans The Mysterious Universe]
"Life is an abnormal business" [Eugène Ionesco The Rhinoceros]
"Life is fired at us point blank" [José Ortega y Gasset]
"There is only one minute in which you are alive, this minute - here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle. Which is exactly what it is - a miracle and unrepeatable" [Storm Jameson]
"Look to this day"
"For it is life, the very life of life" The Sufi
"In the time of your life, live - so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world - but shall smile at the infinite delight and mystery of it" [William Saroyan]
"Man is born to live, not to prepare for life" [Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago]
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time; it is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset" [Crowfoot, a great hunter of the Blackfoot Last words]
"Oh, what a day-to-day business life is" [Jules Laforgue Complainte sur certains ennuis]
"Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!" [Friedrich Nietzsche Die fröhliche Wissenschaft]
"Life is just one damned thing after another" [Frank Ward O'Malley]
"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television" [Woody Allen Husbands and Wives]
"Lift not the painted veil which those who live"
"Call Life" [Percy Bysshe Shelley Sonnet]
"Life is one long process of getting tired" [Samuel Butler Notebooks]
"There is no wealth but life" [John Ruskin Unto This Last]
"Every man regards his own life as the New Year's Eve of time" [Jean Paul Richter Levana]
"Life isn't all beer and skittles" [Thomas Hughes Tom Brown's Schooldays]
"Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about" [Oscar Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan]
"The meaning of life is that it stops" [Franz Kafka]
"It is the essence of life that it exists for its own sake" [A.N. Whitehead Nature and Life]
"Old and young, we are all on our last cruise" [Robert Louis Stevenson Virginibus Puerisque]
"Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed" [Dr. Johnson Rasselas]
"'Tis all a chequer-board of nights and days"
"Where Destiny with men for pieces plays;"
"Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays,"
"And one by one back in the closet lays" [Edward Fitzgerald The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám]
"Life is real! Life is earnest!"
"And the grave is not its goal;"
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"
"Was not spoken of the soul" [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow A Psalm of Life]
Proverbs
"Life begins at forty"
"Life begins at forty"
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
life
noun1. A lively, emphatic, eager quality or manner:
animation, bounce, brio, dash, élan, esprit, liveliness, pertness, sparkle, spirit, verve, vigor, vim, vivaciousness, vivacity, zip.
Slang: oomph.
2. A member of the human race:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
حَيَاْةٌحَياهحَياه، أحْياءحَيَوِيَّهطريَقة حياه
живот
životdoživotílétaživotnostživotopis
livlivstidlivsvarigt fængseltilværelse=-liv
vivo
elamineelamiskõlblikelamisväärneelueluaeg
elämäeläminenelinkaarielinkautinenhenki
život
élet
hidup
æviævisaga-ár, -líf, -ævilíflíf, fjör
生命生存人生命存在
생명삶
vita
atimti gyvybębūtybėsdraugijos sielagelbėjimo virvėgelbėjimosi diržas
biogrāfijadzīvedzīves aprakstsdzīves posmsdzīvesveids
viaţă
doživotieživot
življenje
življenježivotживот
livlivstid
ชีวิต
cuộc sốngđời sống
life
[laɪf]A. N (lives (pl))
1. (= animate state) → vida f
life on earth → la vida en la tierra
bird life → los pájaros
there is not much insect life here → aquí hay pocos insectos
plant life → vida f vegetal, las plantas fpl
to bring sb back to life → resucitar or reanimar a algn
a matter of life and death → cosa f de vida o muerte
I don't believe in life after death → no creo en la vida después de la muerte
to risk life and limb → jugarse la vida
life on earth → la vida en la tierra
bird life → los pájaros
there is not much insect life here → aquí hay pocos insectos
plant life → vida f vegetal, las plantas fpl
to bring sb back to life → resucitar or reanimar a algn
a matter of life and death → cosa f de vida o muerte
I don't believe in life after death → no creo en la vida después de la muerte
to risk life and limb → jugarse la vida
2. (= existence) → vida f
the life of an ant → la vida de una hormiga
how's life? → ¿cómo te va (la vida)?, ¿qué hubo? (Mex, Chile)
I do have a life outside of work, you know → yo hago otras cosas en mi vida aparte de trabajar ¿sabes?
to begin life as → empezar la vida como ...
life begins at 40 → la vida comienza a los 40
to depart this life (liter) → partir de esta vida
in early/later life → en los años juveniles/maduras
I can't for the life of me remember → por más que lo intento no puedo recordar
I clung on for dear life → me agarré como si me fuera la vida en ello
she was fighting for her life → se debatía entre la vida y la muerte
run for your life! → ¡sálvese quien pueda!
to be on trial for one's life → ser acusado de un crimen capital
you gave me the fright of my life! → ¡qué susto me diste!
life goes on or must go on → la vida sigue
to lay down one's life → dar su vida, entregar su vida
to lose one's life → perder la vida
how many lives were lost? → ¿cuántas víctimas hubo?
three lives were lost → murieron tres
never in my life → en mi vida
in the next life → en el más allá, en la otra vida
to have a life of its own [object, machine] → tener vida propia
in real life → en la vida real
to see life → ver mundo
to spend one's life doing sth → pasar la vida haciendo algo
to take sb's life → quitar la vida a algn
to take one's own life → quitarse la vida, suicidarse
you'll be taking your life in your hands if you climb up there → subir allí es jugarse la vida
at my time of life → a mi edad, con los años que yo tengo
his life won't be worth living → más le valdría morirse
it's more than my life's worth → sería jugarme la vida
see also bed A4
see also private C
see also save 1 A1
the life of an ant → la vida de una hormiga
how's life? → ¿cómo te va (la vida)?, ¿qué hubo? (Mex, Chile)
I do have a life outside of work, you know → yo hago otras cosas en mi vida aparte de trabajar ¿sabes?
to begin life as → empezar la vida como ...
life begins at 40 → la vida comienza a los 40
to depart this life (liter) → partir de esta vida
in early/later life → en los años juveniles/maduras
I can't for the life of me remember → por más que lo intento no puedo recordar
I clung on for dear life → me agarré como si me fuera la vida en ello
she was fighting for her life → se debatía entre la vida y la muerte
run for your life! → ¡sálvese quien pueda!
to be on trial for one's life → ser acusado de un crimen capital
you gave me the fright of my life! → ¡qué susto me diste!
life goes on or must go on → la vida sigue
to lay down one's life → dar su vida, entregar su vida
to lose one's life → perder la vida
how many lives were lost? → ¿cuántas víctimas hubo?
three lives were lost → murieron tres
never in my life → en mi vida
in the next life → en el más allá, en la otra vida
to have a life of its own [object, machine] → tener vida propia
in real life → en la vida real
to see life → ver mundo
to spend one's life doing sth → pasar la vida haciendo algo
to take sb's life → quitar la vida a algn
to take one's own life → quitarse la vida, suicidarse
you'll be taking your life in your hands if you climb up there → subir allí es jugarse la vida
at my time of life → a mi edad, con los años que yo tengo
his life won't be worth living → más le valdría morirse
it's more than my life's worth → sería jugarme la vida
see also bed A4
see also private C
see also save 1 A1
3. (= way of living)
country/city life → la vida de la ciudad/del campo
the good life → una vida agradable (Rel) → la vida santa
it's a good life → es una vida agradable
I've had a good life → la vida me ha tratado bien
it's a hard life → la vida es muy dura
to make a new life for o.s to start a new life → comenzar una vida nueva
to live one's own life → ser dueño de su propia vida
to lead a quiet life → llevar una vida tranquila
see also Riley
country/city life → la vida de la ciudad/del campo
the good life → una vida agradable (Rel) → la vida santa
it's a good life → es una vida agradable
I've had a good life → la vida me ha tratado bien
it's a hard life → la vida es muy dura
to make a new life for o.s to start a new life → comenzar una vida nueva
to live one's own life → ser dueño de su propia vida
to lead a quiet life → llevar una vida tranquila
see also Riley
4. (in exclamations)
get a life! → ¡espabílate y haz algo!
(upon) my life! (o.f.) → ¡Dios mío!
not on your life! → ¡ni hablar!
such is life!, that's life! → ¡así es la vida!
this is the life! → ¡esto sí que es vida!, ¡esto es jauja!
what a life! (= bad) → ¡qué vida ésta!; (= good) → ¡vaya vida!, ¡eso sí que es vivir bien!
get a life! → ¡espabílate y haz algo!
(upon) my life! (o.f.) → ¡Dios mío!
not on your life! → ¡ni hablar!
such is life!, that's life! → ¡así es la vida!
this is the life! → ¡esto sí que es vida!, ¡esto es jauja!
what a life! (= bad) → ¡qué vida ésta!; (= good) → ¡vaya vida!, ¡eso sí que es vivir bien!
5. (= liveliness) → vida f
his acting brought the character to life → su actuación dio vida al personaje
she brought the party to life → animó la fiesta
to come to life → animarse
to put or breathe new life into sth/sb → infundir nueva vida a algo/algn
you need to put a bit of life into it → tienes que ponerle un poco de garra
the life and soul of the party → el alma de la fiesta
his acting brought the character to life → su actuación dio vida al personaje
she brought the party to life → animó la fiesta
to come to life → animarse
to put or breathe new life into sth/sb → infundir nueva vida a algo/algn
you need to put a bit of life into it → tienes que ponerle un poco de garra
the life and soul of the party → el alma de la fiesta
6. (= lifespan) [of person] → vida f; [of licence] → vigencia f, validez f; [of battery] → vida f, duración f
during the life of this government → durante el mandato de este gobierno
friends for life → amigos mpl para siempre
scarred for life → con una cicatriz de por vida
a job for life → un trabajo para toda la vida
these birds mate for life → estas aves tienen una sola pareja en su vida
it was her life's work → fue el trabajo de toda su vida
during the life of this government → durante el mandato de este gobierno
friends for life → amigos mpl para siempre
scarred for life → con una cicatriz de por vida
a job for life → un trabajo para toda la vida
these birds mate for life → estas aves tienen una sola pareja en su vida
it was her life's work → fue el trabajo de toda su vida
7. (= life imprisonment)
to do life → cumplir una condena de cadena or reclusión perpetua
to get life, be sentenced to life → ser condenado a cadena or reclusión perpetua
to do life → cumplir una condena de cadena or reclusión perpetua
to get life, be sentenced to life → ser condenado a cadena or reclusión perpetua
9. (= biography) → vida f
B. CPD life and death struggle N → lucha f a vida o muerte
life annuity N → pensión f or anualidad f vitalicia
life assurance N → seguro m de vida
life class N (Art) → clase f de dibujo al natural
life coach N profesional encargado de mejorar la situación laboral y personal de sus clientes
life cycle N → ciclo m vital
life expectancy N → esperanza f de vida
life force N → fuerza f vital
life form N → forma f de vida
Life Guards NPL (Brit) (Mil) regimiento de caballería
life history N [of person] → (historia f de la) vida f (hum, iro) → vida f y milagros mpl
the life history of the salmon → (la historia de) la vida del salmón
life imprisonment N → cadena f perpetua
life insurance N = life assurance life interest N → usufructo m vitalicio
life jacket N → chaleco m salvavidas
life membership N to take out a life membership → inscribirse como miembro vitalicio or de por vida
life peer N (Brit) (Parl) miembro de la Cámara de los Lores de carácter no hereditario
life preserver N (Brit) → cachiporra f (US) → chaleco m salvavidas
life president N → presidente mf de por vida
life raft N → balsa f salvavidas
life sciences NPL → ciencias fpl de la vida
life sentence N → condena f a perpetuidad
life span N [of person] → vida f; [of product] → vida f útil
life story N → biografía f
life annuity N → pensión f or anualidad f vitalicia
life assurance N → seguro m de vida
life class N (Art) → clase f de dibujo al natural
life coach N profesional encargado de mejorar la situación laboral y personal de sus clientes
life cycle N → ciclo m vital
life expectancy N → esperanza f de vida
life force N → fuerza f vital
life form N → forma f de vida
Life Guards NPL (Brit) (Mil) regimiento de caballería
life history N [of person] → (historia f de la) vida f (hum, iro) → vida f y milagros mpl
the life history of the salmon → (la historia de) la vida del salmón
life imprisonment N → cadena f perpetua
life insurance N = life assurance life interest N → usufructo m vitalicio
life jacket N → chaleco m salvavidas
life membership N to take out a life membership → inscribirse como miembro vitalicio or de por vida
life peer N (Brit) (Parl) miembro de la Cámara de los Lores de carácter no hereditario
life preserver N (Brit) → cachiporra f (US) → chaleco m salvavidas
life president N → presidente mf de por vida
life raft N → balsa f salvavidas
life sciences NPL → ciencias fpl de la vida
life sentence N → condena f a perpetuidad
life span N [of person] → vida f; [of product] → vida f útil
life story N → biografía f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
life
[ˈlaɪf] [lives] (pl) n
(= existence) → vie f
her last hours of life → les dernières heures de sa vie
Your life is in danger → Votre vie est en danger.
Life had not been kind to her → La vie n'avait pas été tendre avec elle.
to risk one's life → risquer sa vie
She had risked her life to save mine → Elle avait risqué sa vie pour sauver la mienne.
to spend one's life doing sth → passer sa vie à faire qch
People spend their lives worrying about money → Les gens passent leur vie à se soucier d'argent.
to fight for one's life → lutter pour sa vie
to take sb's life → ôter la vie à qn
to take one's own life → s'ôter la vie
to be scarred for life → être marqué(e) à vie
to be sent to prison for life → être condamné(e) à la prison à vie
life after death → la vie après la mort
life's too short → la vie est trop courte
life's too short for ... → la vie est trop courte pour ...
to hang on for dear life (lit, fig) → se cramponner comme si sa vie en dépendait
I couldn't do it to save my life → je serais tout à fait incapable de le faire
her last hours of life → les dernières heures de sa vie
Your life is in danger → Votre vie est en danger.
Life had not been kind to her → La vie n'avait pas été tendre avec elle.
to risk one's life → risquer sa vie
She had risked her life to save mine → Elle avait risqué sa vie pour sauver la mienne.
to spend one's life doing sth → passer sa vie à faire qch
People spend their lives worrying about money → Les gens passent leur vie à se soucier d'argent.
to fight for one's life → lutter pour sa vie
to take sb's life → ôter la vie à qn
to take one's own life → s'ôter la vie
to be scarred for life → être marqué(e) à vie
to be sent to prison for life → être condamné(e) à la prison à vie
life after death → la vie après la mort
life's too short → la vie est trop courte
life's too short for ... → la vie est trop courte pour ...
to hang on for dear life (lit, fig) → se cramponner comme si sa vie en dépendait
I couldn't do it to save my life → je serais tout à fait incapable de le faire
(= way of living) → vie f
country life → la vie rurale, la vie à la campagne
city life → la vie urbaine
one's personal life → sa vie personnelle
My personal life has had to take second place to my career → Ma vie personnelle a dû passer après ma carrière.
one's working life → sa vie professionnelle
country life → la vie rurale, la vie à la campagne
city life → la vie urbaine
one's personal life → sa vie personnelle
My personal life has had to take second place to my career → Ma vie personnelle a dû passer après ma carrière.
one's working life → sa vie professionnelle
(= liveliness) [+ person, place] → vie f
to be full of life [person, place] → être plein(e) de vie
to come to life [party, social occasion] → s'animer
to be full of life [person, place] → être plein(e) de vie
to come to life [party, social occasion] → s'animer
(= living things) → vie f
Is there life on Mars? → Y a-t-il de la vie sur Mars?
some useful facts about animal and plant life → des données utiles sur la vie animale et végétale
Is there life on Mars? → Y a-t-il de la vie sur Mars?
some useful facts about animal and plant life → des données utiles sur la vie animale et végétale
(= lifespan) [equipment, machine] → durée f de vie
The average life of a dishwasher is 10 years → La durée de vie moyenne d'un lave-vaisselle est de 10 ans.
The average life of a dishwasher is 10 years → La durée de vie moyenne d'un lave-vaisselle est de 10 ans.
modif [membership, subscription, ban] → à vielife-affirming [ˈlaɪfəfɜːrmɪŋ] adj [film, book, comedy] → porteur/euse d'un message de vielife-and-death [ˌlaɪfəndˈdɛθ] life-or-death [ˌlaɪfərˈdɛθ] modif [decision] → vital(e)
a life-and-death situation → une question de vie ou de mortlife-and-death situation n
We're dealing with a life-and-death situation here → Nous avons là une situation dans laquelle la vie de quelqu'un est en danger.life annuity n → pension f, rente f viagèrelife assurance n (British) = life insurance
a life-and-death situation → une question de vie ou de mortlife-and-death situation n
We're dealing with a life-and-death situation here → Nous avons là une situation dans laquelle la vie de quelqu'un est en danger.life annuity n → pension f, rente f viagèrelife assurance n (British) = life insurance
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
life
n pl <lives>
→ Leben nt; bird/plant life → die Vogel-/Pflanzenwelt; there is not much insect life here → hier gibt es nicht viele Insekten; drawn from life → lebensnah; to draw from life (Art) → nach dem Leben zeichnen; to the life → lebensecht; the battle resulted in great loss of life → bei der Schlacht kamen viele ums Leben; this is a matter of life and death → hier geht es um Leben und Tod; a life and death struggle → ein Kampf auf Leben und Tod; life after death → das Leben nach dem Tod; life begins at 40 → das Leben fängt mit 40 (erst richtig) an; to be tired of life → des Lebens überdrüssig sein; life goes on → das Leben geht weiter; to bring somebody back to life → jdn wiederbeleben, jdn ins Leben zurückrufen; his book brings history to life → sein Buch lässt die Geschichte lebendig werden; to come to life (fig) → lebendig werden; I’m the sort of person who comes to life in the evenings → ich bin ein Typ, der erst abends munter wird; after half an hour the discussion came to life → nach einer halben Stunde kam Leben in die Diskussion; to put new life into somebody → jdm wieder Auftrieb geben; for dear life → verzweifelt; they swam for dear life → sie schwammen um ihr Leben; they looked at him in the oxygen tent fighting for dear life → sie sahen, wie er im Sauerstoffzelt um sein Leben kämpfte; at my time of life → in meinem Alter; marriage should be for life → eine Ehe sollte fürs Leben geschlossen werden; he’s got a job for life → er hat eine Stelle auf Lebenszeit; the murderer was imprisoned for life → der Mörder wurde zu lebenslänglicher Freiheitsstrafe verurteilt; he’s doing life (for murder) (inf) → er sitzt lebenslänglich (wegen Mord) (inf); he got life (inf) → er hat lebenslänglich gekriegt (inf)
(= individual life) how many lives were lost? → wie viele (Menschen) sind ums Leben gekommen?; the lives of the prisoners → das Leben der Gefangenen; I’ve got a new man in my life → in meinem Leben gibt es einen neuen Mann; to take somebody’s life → jdn umbringen; to take one’s own life → sich (dat) → das Leben nehmen; to save somebody’s life (lit) → jdm das Leben retten; (fig) → jdn retten; I couldn’t do it to save my life → ich kann es beim besten Willen nicht; the church is my life → die Kirche ist mein ganzes Leben; to rule somebody’s life → jds Leben bestimmen; the suspected murderer is on trial for his life → für den Mordverdächtigen geht es bei dem Prozess um Leben und Tod; in the next life → im nächsten Leben; early in life, in early life → in frühen Jahren; later in life, in later life → in späteren Jahren, später im Leben; she leads a busy life → bei ihr ist immer etwas los; she began (her working) life as a teacher → sie begann ihr Berufsleben als Lehrerin; the book started life as a screenplay → das Buch war ursprünglich ein Drehbuch; all his life → sein ganzes Leben lang; I’ve never been to London in my life → ich war in meinem ganzen Leben noch nicht in London; to fight for one’s life → um sein Leben kämpfen; run for your lives! → rennt um euer Leben!; it gave me the fright of my life → es hat mich zu Tode erschreckt; I can’t for the life of me … (inf) → ich kann beim besten Willen nicht …; never in my life have I heard such nonsense → ich habe mein Lebtag noch nicht or noch nie im Leben so einen Unsinn gehört; not on your life! (inf) → ich bin doch nicht verrückt! (inf); would you ever disobey him? — not on your life! (inf) → würdest du je seine Befehle missachten? — nie im Leben!; get a life! (inf) → sonst hast du keine Probleme? (inf); to have a life → etwas vom Leben haben; to have a life of one’s own → sein eigenes Leben führen; it seemed to have a life of its own → es scheint seinen eigenen Willen zu haben; he is a good/bad life (Insur) → er ist ein niedriges/hohes Risiko
(= the world, social activity) to see life → die Welt sehen; there isn’t much life here in the evenings → hier ist abends nicht viel Leben or nicht viel los
(= liveliness) → Leben nt; those children are full of life! → diese Kinder stecken voller Leben or sind sehr lebhaft!; the city centre (Brit) or center (US) was full of life → im Stadtzentrum ging es sehr lebhaft zu; he’s still got so much life in him → er ist noch so vital or steckt noch voller Leben; there’s life in the old girl yet (inf) → sie ist noch schwer aktiv (inf); (of car) → die Kiste bringts noch (sl); he is the life and soul (Brit) or life (US) of every party → er bringt Leben in jede Party; wherever John goes, he wants to be the life and soul (Brit) or life (US) of the party → John will überall im Mittelpunkt stehen
(= way of life) → Leben nt; village life → das Leben auf dem Dorf; this is the life! → ja, ist das ein Leben!; what a life! → was für ein Leben!; such is life, that’s life → so ist das Leben; it’s a good life → es ist ein schönes Leben; the good life → das süße Leben
(= useful or active life) → Lebensdauer f; during the life of the present Parliament → während der Legislaturperiode des gegenwärtigen Parlaments; there’s not much life left in the battery, the battery’s nearing the end of its life → die Batterie machts nicht mehr lange (inf)
life
:life annuity
n → Leib- or Lebensrente f
life assurance
n (Brit) → Lebensversicherung f
lifebelt
n → Rettungsgürtel m
lifeblood
lifeboat
n (from shore) → Rettungsboot nt; (from ship also) → Beiboot nt
lifebuoy
n → Rettungsring m
life class
n (Art) → Kurs m → im Modellzeichnen
life coach
n → Lebensberater(in) m(f)
life cycle
n → Lebenszyklus m
life-enhancing
adj → bereichernd
life expectancy
n → Lebenserwartung f
life force
n → Lebenskraft f
life-giving
lifeguard
n
(on beach) → Rettungsschwimmer(in) m(f); (in baths) → Bademeister(in) m(f)
(Mil) → Leibwache f
life history
n → Lebensgeschichte f; (Biol) → Entwicklungsgeschichte f; the life of the salmon → der Lebenskreislauf des Lachses
life imprisonment
life instinct
n (Psych) → Lebenstrieb m
life insurance
n = life assurance
life interest
n (Jur) → lebenslänglicher Niesbrauch
life jacket
n → Schwimmweste f
life
:lifelike
adj → lebensecht; imitation also → naturgetreu
lifeline
n
→ Rettungsleine f; (of diver) → Signalleine f; (fig) → Rettungsanker m; the telephone is a life for many old people → das Telefon ist für viele alte Leute lebenswichtig; in doing this they risked severing their financial life → dadurch haben sie riskiert, dass ihnen der Geldhahn zugedreht wird
(Palmistry) → Lebenslinie f
lifelong
adj → lebenslang; they are life friends → sie sind schon ihr Leben lang Freunde; he’s my life friend → er war schon immer mein Freund; we became life friends → wir wurden Freunde fürs Leben; his life devotion to the cause → die Sache, in deren Dienst er sein Leben gestellt hat; her life fear of water → ihre angeborene Angst vor Wasser
life membership
n → Mitgliedschaft f → auf Lebenszeit
life net
n → Sprungtuch nt
life peer
n → Peer m → auf Lebenszeit
life preserver
n
(Brit) → Totschläger m
(US) → Schwimmweste f
life
:life raft
n → Rettungsfloß nt
life-saver
n
life-saving
adj techniques, apparatus → zur Lebensrettung; phone call, drug, operation, treatment → lebensrettend; drop of whisky → rettend; life certificate → Rettungsschwimmabzeichen nt
life science
n Medizin, Biologie etc
life sentence
life-size(d)
adj → in Lebensgröße, lebensgroß
lifespan
life story
n → Lebensgeschichte f
lifestyle
n → Lebensstil m
life
:life table
n → Sterblichkeitstabelle f
life-threatening
adj → lebensbedrohend
lifetime
n
→ Lebenszeit f; (of battery, machine, animal) → Lebensdauer f; once in a life → einmal im Leben; during or in my life → während meines Lebens; in his life there were no buses → zu seiner Zeit gab es keine Busse; the chance of a life → eine einmalige Chance, DIE Chance (inf); a life’s devotion to charity → ein Leben, das der Wohltätigkeit gewidmet ist; the work of a life → ein Lebenswerk nt
(fig) → Ewigkeit f
life vest
n → Rettungs- or Schwimmweste f
lifework
n → Lebenswerk nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
life
[laɪf]1. n (lives (pl))
a. (gen) → vita
life on earth → vita terrestre or sulla terra
bird life → gli uccelli
a matter of life and death → una questione di vita o di morte
to bring sb back to life → riportare in vita qn
to come to life → rianimarsi, riprendere vita
life on earth → vita terrestre or sulla terra
bird life → gli uccelli
a matter of life and death → una questione di vita o di morte
to bring sb back to life → riportare in vita qn
to come to life → rianimarsi, riprendere vita
b. (existence) → vita; (of battery) → durata
to spend one's life doing sth → passare la vita a fare qc
during the life of this government → durante questo governo, nel corso di questa amministrazione
to begin life as → cominciare come
to be sent to prison for life → essere condannato/a all'ergastolo
in early life → in gioventù
in later life → nella maturità
a quiet/hard life → una vita tranquilla/dura
country/city life → vita di campagna/di città
how's life? (fam) → come va (la vita)?
that's life → così è la vita
to lose one's life → perdere la vita
three lives were lost → tre persone sono morte or hanno perso la vita
to take one's own life (euph) (commit suicide) → togliersi la vita
a danger to life and limb → un pericolo mortale
to risk life and limb → rischiare l'osso del collo
you'll be taking your life in your hands if you climb up there (fam) → rischi la pelle se ti arrampichi lassù
his life won't be worth living → rimpiangerà di esser nato
not on your life! (fam) → neanche morto!, fossi matto!
to see life → vedere il mondo
to run for one's life → correre per mettersi in salvo
I can't for the life of me imagine ... (fam) → non riesco assolutamente a immaginare...
true to life → fedele alla realtà
to paint from life → dipingere dal vero
to spend one's life doing sth → passare la vita a fare qc
during the life of this government → durante questo governo, nel corso di questa amministrazione
to begin life as → cominciare come
to be sent to prison for life → essere condannato/a all'ergastolo
in early life → in gioventù
in later life → nella maturità
a quiet/hard life → una vita tranquilla/dura
country/city life → vita di campagna/di città
how's life? (fam) → come va (la vita)?
that's life → così è la vita
to lose one's life → perdere la vita
three lives were lost → tre persone sono morte or hanno perso la vita
to take one's own life (euph) (commit suicide) → togliersi la vita
a danger to life and limb → un pericolo mortale
to risk life and limb → rischiare l'osso del collo
you'll be taking your life in your hands if you climb up there (fam) → rischi la pelle se ti arrampichi lassù
his life won't be worth living → rimpiangerà di esser nato
not on your life! (fam) → neanche morto!, fossi matto!
to see life → vedere il mondo
to run for one's life → correre per mettersi in salvo
I can't for the life of me imagine ... (fam) → non riesco assolutamente a immaginare...
true to life → fedele alla realtà
to paint from life → dipingere dal vero
c. (liveliness, of place) → vita, animazione f; (of person) → vita, vivacità
the life and soul of the party → l'anima della festa
to put or breathe new life into (person) → ridare entusiasmo a (project, area) → ridare nuova vita a
the life and soul of the party → l'anima della festa
to put or breathe new life into (person) → ridare entusiasmo a (project, area) → ridare nuova vita a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
life
(laif) – plural lives (laivz) – noun1. the quality belonging to plants and animals which distinguishes them from rocks, minerals etc and things which are dead. Doctors are fighting to save the child's life.
2. the period between birth and death. He had a long and happy life.
3. liveliness. She was full of life and energy.
4. a manner of living. She lived a life of ease and idleness.
5. the period during which any particular state exists. He had many different jobs during his working life.
6. living things. It is now believed that there may be life on Mars; animal life.
7. the story of a life. He has written a life of Churchill.
8. life imprisonment. He was given life for murder.
ˈlifeless adjective1. dead. a lifeless body.
2. not lively; uninteresting. The actress gave a lifeless performance.
ˈlifelike adjective like a living person, animal etc. The statue was very lifelike; a lifelike portrait.
life-and-ˈdeath adjective serious and deciding between life and death. a life-and-death struggle.
ˈlifebelt noun a ring or belt filled with air or made of a material which floats, for keeping a person afloat.
ˈlifeboat noun a boat for saving shipwrecked people.
ˈlifebuoy noun a buoy intended to support a person in the water till he can be rescued.
ˈlife-cycle noun the various stages through which a living thing passes. the life-cycle of the snail.
life expectancy the (average) length of time a person can expect to live.
ˈlifeguard noun a person employed to protect and rescue swimmers at a swimming-pool, beach etc.
ˈlife-jacket noun a sleeveless jacket filled with material that will float, for keeping a person afloat.
ˈlifeline noun a rope for support in dangerous operations or thrown to rescue a drowning person.
ˈlifelong adjective lasting the whole length of a life. a lifelong friendship.
ˈlife-saving noun the act or skill of rescuing people from drowning. The boy is being taught life-saving.
ˈlife-size(d) adjective, adverb (of a copy, drawing etc) as large as the original. a life-sized statue.
ˈlifetime noun the period of a person's life. He saw many changes in his lifetime.
as large as life in person; actually. I went to the party and there was John as large as life.
bring to life to make lively or interesting. His lectures really brought the subject to life.
come to life to become lively or interesting. The play did not come to life until the last act.
for life until death. They became friends for life.
the life and soul of the party a person who is very active, enthusiastic, amusing etc at a party.
not for the life of me not even if it was necessary in order to save my life. I couldn't for the life of me remember his name!
not on your life! certainly not!. `Will you get married?' `Not on your life!'
take life to kill. It is a sin to take life.
take one's life to kill oneself.
take one's life in one's hands to take the risk of being killed.
to the life exactly (like). When he put on that uniform, he was Napoleon to the life.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
life
→ حَيَاْةٌ život liv Leben ζωή vida elämä vie život vita 生命 생명 leven liv życie vida жизнь liv ชีวิต yaşam cuộc sống 生命Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
life
n. vida, modo de vivir, existencia;
___ expectancy → expectativa de ___, promedio de ___;
___ insurance → seguro de ___;
___ preservers, ___ support devices → aparatos para prolongar la ___;
___ -saving measure → medida para prolongar o salvar la ___;
___ span → longevidad;
___ -threatening → que puede causar la muerte.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
life
n vida; for — de por vida; for the rest of your — por el resto de su vida; — expectancy expectativa or esperanza de vida; life-saving que salva vidas, que puede salvar la vida; life-threatening potencialmente mortal, que pone en peligro la vida; sex — vida sexual; social — vida socialEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.