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life cycle

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life cycle

–noun
1. Biology. the continuous sequence of changes undergone by an organism from one primary form, as a gamete, to the development of the same form again.
2. a series of stages, as childhood and middle age, that characterize the course of existence of an individual, group, or culture.
3. any similar series of stages: the life cycle of a manufactured product.

Origin:
1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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life cycle  
n.  
  1. The course of developmental changes through which an organism passes from its inception as a fertilized zygote to the mature state in which another zygote may be produced.

  2. A progression through a series of differing stages of development.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: life cycle
Function: noun
1 : the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences ofa specified primary stage
2 : LIFE HISTORY 1a
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

life cycle n.

  1. The characteristic course of developmental changes through which an organism passes from its inception as a fertilized zygote to its mature state during which another zygote may be produced.

  2. A progression through a series of differing stages of development.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

life cycle

in biology, the series of changes that the members of a species undergo as they pass from the beginning of a given developmental stage to the inception of that same developmental stage in a subsequent generation

Learn more about life cycle with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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