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life - 13 dictionary results
life
[lahyf] 
noun, plural lives [lahyvz] , adjective –noun
| 1. | the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. |
| 2. | the sum of the distinguishing phenomena of organisms, esp. metabolism, growth, reproduction, and adaptation to environment. |
| 3. | the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual: to risk one's life; a short life and a merry one. |
| 4. | a corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul: eternal life. |
| 5. | the general or universal condition of human existence: Too bad, but life is like that. |
| 6. | any specified period of animate existence: a man in middle life. |
| 7. | the period of existence, activity, or effectiveness of something inanimate, as a machine, lease, or play: The life of the car may be ten years. |
| 8. | a living being: Several lives were lost. |
| 9. | living things collectively: the hope of discovering life on other planets; insect life. |
| 10. | a particular aspect of existence: He enjoys an active physical life. |
| 11. | the course of existence or sum of experiences and actions that constitute a person's existence: His business has been his entire life. |
| 12. | a biography: a newly published life of Willa Cather. |
| 13. | animation; liveliness; spirit: a speech full of life. |
| 14. | resilience; elasticity. |
| 15. | the force that makes or keeps something alive; the vivifying or quickening principle: The life of the treaty has been an increase of mutual understanding and respect. |
| 16. | a mode or manner of existence, as in the world of affairs or society: So far her business life has not overlapped her social life. |
| 17. | the period or extent of authority, popularity, approval, etc.: the life of the committee; the life of a bestseller. |
| 18. | a prison sentence covering the remaining portion of the offender's animate existence: The judge gave him life. |
| 19. | anything or anyone considered to be as precious as life: She was his life. |
| 20. | a person or thing that enlivens: the life of the party. |
| 21. | effervescence or sparkle, as of wines. |
| 22. | pungency or strong, sharp flavor, as of substances when fresh or in good condition. |
| 23. | nature or any of the forms of nature as the model or subject of a work of art: drawn from life. |
| 24. | Baseball. another opportunity given to a batter to bat because of a misplay by a fielder. |
| 25. | (in English pool) one of a limited number of shots allowed a player: Each pool player has three lives at the beginning of the game. |
–adjective
—Idioms| 26. | for or lasting a lifetime; lifelong: a life membership in a club; life imprisonment. |
| 27. | of or pertaining to animate existence: the life force; life functions. |
| 28. | working from nature or using a living model: a life drawing; a life class. |
| 29. | as large as life, actually; indeed: There he stood, as large as life. Also, as big as life. |
| 30. | come to life,
|
| 31. | for dear life, with desperate effort, energy, or speed: We ran for dear life, with the dogs at our heels. Also, for one's life. |
| 32. | for the life of one, as hard as one tries; even with the utmost effort: He can't understand it for the life of him. |
| 33. | 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. |
| 34. | not on your life, Informal. absolutely not; under no circumstances; by no means: Will I stand for such a thing? Not on your life! |
| 35. | take one's life in one's hands, to risk death knowingly: We were warned that we were taking our lives in our hands by going through that swampy area. |
| 36. | to the life, in perfect imitation; exactly: The portrait characterized him to the life. |
Synonyms:
13. vivacity, sprightliness, vigor, verve, activity, energy.
13. vivacity, sprightliness, vigor, verve, activity, energy.
Antonyms:
13. inertia.
13. inertia.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To life
| life (līf) n. pl. lives (līvz)
[Middle English, from Old English līf; see leip- in Indo-European roots.] |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Life
Life\ (l[imac]f), n.; pl. Lives (l[imac]vz). [AS. l[imac]f; akin to D. lijf body, G. leib body, MHG. l[imac]p life, body, OHG. l[imac]b life, Icel. l[imac]f, life, body, Sw. lif, Dan. liv, and E. live, v. [root]119. See Live, and cf. Alive.]1. The state of being which begins with generation, birth, or germination, and ends with death; also, the time during which this state continues; that state of an animal or plant in which all or any of its organs are capable of performing all or any of their functions; -- used of all animal and vegetable organisms. 2. Of human beings: The union of the soul and body; also, the duration of their union; sometimes, the deathless quality or existence of the soul; as, man is a creature having an immortal life. She shows a body rather than a life. --Shak. 3. (Philos) The potential principle, or force, by which the organs of animals and plants are started and continued in the performance of their several and co["o]perative functions; the vital force, whether regarded as physical or spiritual. 4. Figuratively: The potential or animating principle, also, the period of duration, of anything that is conceived of as resembling a natural organism in structure or functions; as, the life of a state, a machine, or a book; authority is the life of government. 5. A certain way or manner of living with respect to conditions, circumstances, character, conduct, occupation, etc.; hence, human affairs; also, lives, considered collectively, as a distinct class or type; as, low life; a good or evil life; the life of Indians, or of miners. That which before us lies in daily life. --Milton. By experience of life abroad in the world. --Ascham. Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime. --Longfellow. 'T is from high life high characters are drawn. --Pope 6. Animation; spirit; vivacity; vigor; energy. No notion of life and fire in fancy and in words. --Felton. That gives thy gestures grace and life. --Wordsworth. 7. That which imparts or excites spirit or vigor; that upon which enjoyment or success depends; as, he was the life of the company, or of the enterprise. 8. The living or actual form, person, thing, or state; as, a picture or a description from the life. 9. A person; a living being, usually a human being; as, many lives were sacrificed. 10. The system of animal nature; animals in general, or considered collectively. Full nature swarms with life. --Thomson. 11. An essential constituent of life, esp. the blood. The words that I speak unto you . . . they are life. --John vi. 63. The warm life came issuing through the wound. --Pope 12. A history of the acts and events of a life; a biography; as, Johnson wrote the life of Milton. 13. Enjoyment in the right use of the powers; especially, a spiritual existence; happiness in the favor of God; heavenly felicity. 14. Something dear to one as one's existence; a darling; -- used as a term of endearment. Note: Life forms the first part of many compounds, for the most part of obvious meaning; as, life-giving, life-sustaining, etc. Life annuity, an annuity payable during one's life. Life arrow, Life rocket, Life shot, an arrow, rocket, or shot, for carrying an attached line to a vessel in distress in order to save life. Life assurance. See Life insurance, below. Life buoy. See Buoy. Life car, a water-tight boat or box, traveling on a line from a wrecked vessel to the shore. In it persons are hauled through the waves and surf. Life drop, a drop of vital blood. --Byron. Life estate (Law), an estate which is held during the term of some certain person's life, but does not pass by inheritance. Life everlasting (Bot.), a plant with white or yellow persistent scales about the heads of the flowers, as Antennaria, and Gnaphalium; cudweed. Life of an execution (Law), the period when an execution is in force, or before it expires. Life guard. (Mil.) See under Guard. Life insurance, the act or system of insuring against death; a contract by which the insurer undertakes, in consideration of the payment of a premium (usually at stated periods), to pay a stipulated sum in the event of the death of the insured or of a third person in whose life the insured has an interest. Life interest, an estate or interest which lasts during one's life, or the life of another person, but does not pass by inheritance. Life land (Law), land held by lease for the term of a life or lives. Life line. (a) (Naut.) A line along any part of a vessel for the security of sailors. (b) A line attached to a life boat, or to any life saving apparatus, to be grasped by a person in the water. Life rate, the rate of premium for insuring a life. Life rent, the rent of a life estate; rent or property to which one is entitled during one's life. Life school, a school for artists in which they model, paint, or draw from living models. Life table, a table showing the probability of life at different ages. To lose one's life, to die. To seek the life of, to seek to kill. To the life, so as closely to resemble the living person or the subject; as, the portrait was drawn to the life.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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life
n.1. A cellular-automata game invented by John Horton Conway and first introduced publicly by Martin Gardner ("Scientific American", October 1970); the game's popularity had to wait a few years for computers on which it could reasonably be played, as it's no fun to simulate the cells by hand. Many hackers pass through a stage of fascination with it, and hackers at various places contributed heavily to the mathematical analysis of this game (most notably Bill Gosper at MIT, who even implemented life in TECO!; see Gosperism). When a hacker mentions `life', he is much more likely to mean this game than the magazine, the breakfast cereal, or the human state of existence.
2. The opposite of Usenet. As in "Get a life!"
Jargon File 4.2.0
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life
O.E. life (dat. lif), from P.Gmc. *liba- (cf. O.N. lif "life, body," Du. lijf "body," O.H.G. lib "life," Ger. Leib "body"), properly "continuance, perseverance," from PIE *lip- "to remain, persevere, continue, live" (see leave). Much of the modern range of meaning was present in O.E. Extended 1703 to "term of duration (of inanimate objects)." Lifestyle is from 1929, originally a specific term used by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler (1870-1937); broader sense is from 1961. Life-line is from 1700; fig. sense first attested 1860. Life-and-death "vitally important" is from 1822. Life of Riley is from 1919, perhaps from 1880s song about a man named O'Reilly and how he got rich and lived at ease. Lifer "prisoner serving a life sentence" is slang from 1830.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: life
Pronunciation: 'lIf
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural lives /'lIvz/
1 a : the quality thatdistinguishes a vital and functional plant or animal from a dead body b : a state of living characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction
2 a : the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual b : a specific part or aspect of the process of living
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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life (līf)
n. pl. lives (līvz)
- 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.
- The characteristic state or condition of a living organism.
- Living organisms considered as a group.
- A living being, especially a person.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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life (līf) Pronunciation Key
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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LIFE language
Logic of Inheritance, Functions and Equations.
An object-oriented, functional, constraint-based language by Hassan Ait-Kacy
Mailing list: life-users@prl.dec.com.
See also Wild_LIFE.
["Is There a Meaning to LIFE?", H. Ait-Kacy et al, Intl Conf on Logic Prog, 1991].
[The Jargon File]
(1995-04-21)
Life games
The first popular cellular automata based artificial life "game". Life was invented by British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970 and was first introduced publicly in "Scientific American" later that year.
Conway first devised what he called "The Game of Life" and "ran" it using plates placed on floor tiles in his house. Because of he ran out of floor space and kept stepping on the plates, he later moved to doing it on paper or on a checkerboard, and then moved to running Life as a computer program on a PDP-7. That first implementation of Life as a computer program was written by M. J. T. Guy and S. R. Bourne (the author of Unix's Bourne shell).
Life uses a rectangular grid of binary (live or dead) cells each of which is updated at each step according to the previous state of its eight neighbours as follows: a live cell with less than two, or more than three, live neighbours dies. A dead cell with exactly three neighbours becomes alive. Other cells do not change.
While the rules are fairly simple, the patterns that can arise are of a complexity resembling that of organic systems -- hence the name "Life".
Many hackers pass through a stage of fascination with Life, and hackers at various places contributed heavily to the mathematical analysis of this game (most notably Bill Gosper at MIT, who even implemented Life in TECO!; see Gosperism). When a hacker mentions "life", he is more likely to mean this game than the magazine, the breakfast cereal, the 1950s-era board game or the human state of existence.
Yahoo!.
Demonstration.
["Scientific American" 223, October 1970, p120-123, 224; February 1971 p121-117, Martin Gardner].
["The Garden in The Machine: the Emerging Science of Artificial Life", Claus Emmeche, 1994].
["Winning Ways, For Your Mathematical Plays", Elwyn R. Berlekamp, John Horton Conway and Richard K. Guy, 1982].
["The Recursive Universe: Cosmic Complexity and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge", William Poundstone, 1985].
[The Jargon File]
(1997-09-07)
life jargon
The opposite of Usenet. As in "Get a life!"
[The Jargon File]
(1995-04-21)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Life
generally of physical life (Gen. 2:7; Luke 16:25, etc.); also used figuratively (1) for immortality (Heb. 7:16); (2) conduct or manner of life (Rom. 6:4); (3) spiritual life or salvation (John 3:16, 17, 18, 36); (4) eternal life (Matt. 19:16, 17; John 3:15); of God and Christ as the absolute source and cause of all life (John 1:4; 5:26, 39; 11:25; 12:50).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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life
In addition to the idioms beginning with life, also see bet one's ass (life); big as life; breathe new life into; bring to life; change of life; charmed life; come alive (to life); dog's life; facts of life; for dear life; for the life of; get a life; good life; late in life; lay down (one's life); lead a double life; matter of life and death; new lease on life; not on your life; of one's life; once in a lifetime; prime of life; risk life and limb; run for it (one's life); staff of life; story of my life; take someone's life; to save one's life; to the life; true to (life); variety is the spice of life; walk of life; while there's life there's hope; you bet (your life).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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