Life is a very common noun with several related but distinctclearly different from each other meaningsthe senses or ideas that a word can express. It can mean the state of being alive, the experience of living, a person’s life story, or the time something lasts. It also appears in set phrasesgroups of words used together as fixed expressions like city life, life sentence, and get a life.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-16. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Pronunciation
AI-generated pronunciation audio (OpenAI).
Accent: General American English
IPA: /laɪf/
Easy pronunciation: LIFE (approximate spelling).
Stress: One syllable, with the vowel stressed.
Primary sense: the condition of living; being alive, not dead.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-16. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Life Meaning
being alive; not dead
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the condition of living or the state of being alive
Example: Doctors worked through the night to save his life.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- living — Works in phrases like the living, but is not a perfect one-word substitute in every context.
- aliveness — A close match for the state of being alive, though less common in everyday speech.
- animation — Can mean being alive in a technical or formal sense, but is less natural than life.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-16. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Other Meanings of Life
Meaning 2
the experience of living and what happens in it
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
Example: She found it hard to cope with the pressures of life.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- living — Can overlap with this sense when talking about one's way of living, but is broad and context-dependent.
Meaning 3
a story of a person's life
Part of speech: noun
Definition: an account of the series of events making up a person's life
Example: She wrote a biography of the singer's life.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- biography — A direct match when the life is written up as a factual account.
- life history — A closer fit in formal or academic use.
- life story — A natural synonym for a person's story from birth onward.
Meaning 4
the length of time something lasts or works
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)
Example: The battery has a very short life.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- life-time — Usually spelled lifetime; the hyphenated form is less common.
- lifespan — A strong synonym for the length of time a person, animal, or thing lasts.
- lifetime — A direct and common substitute in this sense.
Meaning 5
energy and liveliness
Part of speech: noun
Definition: animation and energy in action or expression
Example: The actor brought the role to life.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- liveliness — A close match for energetic expression or movement.
- spirit — Can work when it means vigor or vitality, though it is broader.
- sprightliness — A good synonym in literary or formal style.
Meaning 6
a prison sentence for the rest of someone's life
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives
Example: He was sentenced to life for the murder.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- life sentence — The standard term for this meaning.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: inaccurate — correction needed. Checked: 2026-10-16. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Life Synonyms
Similar Meaning
- living
- aliveness
- animation
a story or account of a person's life
- biography
- life story
- life history
the length of time something lasts or works
- lifetime
- lifespan
- life-time
energy, liveliness, or spirit
- liveliness
- spirit
- sprightliness
a prison sentence for the rest of someone's life
- life sentence
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-16. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Common Mistakes
- Do not confuse life meaning 'being alive' with lifetime meaning 'the period something lasts.'
- Do not use biography for a person's actual life; it means the written account of that life.
- Life can mean a prison sentence in phrases like life sentence, but not usually by itself in ordinary speech.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-16. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the basic meaning of life?
The basic meaning is being alive or the state of living.
What are the best synonyms for life?
It depends on the sense. For 'being alive,' close synonyms include living and aliveness. For 'a person's story,' use biography or life story. For 'how long something lasts,' use lifetime or lifespan.
Is life the same as lifetime?
No. Life usually means being alive or the experience of living, while lifetime means the period something lasts.
Can life mean a prison sentence?
Yes. In legal English, life can mean a sentence that lasts until death, as in life sentence.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-16. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.