life n. (pl. lives). i. Condition or fact of being living; that state of ceaseless change and functional activity which constitutes the essential difference between living organisms and dead or non-living matter; continuance of animate existence (opp. death); energy, vivacity, animation; vivifying influence; living things; living form or model, life-size figure, etc.;(a matter etc.) of ? and death, (something) on which it depends whether a person shall live or die, of vital importance; for one's, for dear ?, (as if) to escape death; as large as ?, life-size; to the , with fidelity to the original. 2. Period from birth to death, birth to present time, or present time to death; person considered with respect to expectation of life; expectation of ?, average period that person at specified age may expect to live; good, bad, ?, person likely to pass, fall short of, this average; have the time of one's
enjoy oneself as never before;
annuity, sentence, annuity, sentence, to continue for rest of person's life. 3. Individual actions and fortunes, manner of existence; written story of these, biography; active part of existence, business and pleasures of the world; eternal, everlasting, future, the other, ?, state of existence after death; high, low, ?, social customs of upper, lower, classes; see ?, enjoy affairs of the world, esp. social activities; this ?, life on earth. 4. Time that an object etc. may last. S. li'febelt, belt of buoyant material to support human body in water; --blood, blood necessary to life; vitalizing influence; lifeboat, boat maintained at lifeboat station on shore, equipped to go to aid of ships in distress; boat carried by ship for use in emergency; li'febuoy: see BUOY; --cycle, (biol.) series of changes undergone by an organism from the union of gametes that produced it until its death (but in some animals and plants the life-cycle includes the life and death of successive individuals); ? estate, property that one holds for life but cannot dispose of further; ? force, vital energy, force conceived as striving for survival of individual and race; L? Guard(s), (member of) bodyguard of soldiers, formerly (in British army) two regiments of household cavalry, which are now combined in one Armoured Corps regiment but still provide a squadron for. ceremonial duties; -guard, (U.S.) person watching against accidents to bathers;
interest, right to life estate; jacket, life-preserver shaped like sleeveless jacket; --line, rope used for life-saving, e.g. that attached to lifebuoy; diver's signalling line; lifelong, lasting one's life; --office, office for life-assurance; --preserver, short stick with heavily loaded end; buoyant jacket, belt, etc., to support human body in water; --size(d), of same size as object represented; --table, statistics of expectation of life; lifetime, duration of person's life; --work, task pursued through one's whole life. lifeless adj. Dead; lacking animation, energy, etc. lifelessly adv. lifelessness n. lifelike
