1
a
: the duration of the existence of a living being (such as a person or an animal) or a thing (such as a star or a subatomic particle)
b
2
: an amount accumulated or experienced in a lifetime
a lifetime of regrets
1
: lifelong
2
: of long duration or continuance
lifetime legislation
3
: measured or achieved over the span of a career
a baseball player's lifetime batting average
Synonyms
Examples of lifetime in a Sentence
Noun
a lifetime spent traveling the world
It would have taken me a lifetime to read all those books.
Childhood seems a lifetime ago now!
a chemical with a lifetime of only a few minutes
the lifetime of a planet
Recent Examples on the Web
Merle Ginsberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Apr. 2024
Steve Salas will perform and be awarded with a lifetime achievement recognition, and other scheduled performers are Ash Easton, We The Commas and Mitchy Slick. 7 p.m. Tuesday.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2024
For instance, the North Node is symbolic of Hawn’s soul path and the lessons she’s meant to learn in this lifetime, while Russell’s ascendant represents the energetic theme of his life.
—Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 28 Apr. 2024
About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
—Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
The report shows how racial and gender gaps in earnings, retirement savings and emergency savings can contribute to a lifetime lag for individuals and families.
—Isabela Espadas Barros Leal, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
This figure, called the total fertility rate, calculates the average number of births that women will have over their lifetimes if current rates stay the same.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
In January, DownBeat magazine honored Mr. Cuscuna with its award for lifetime achievement in recording.
—Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
Ironically, his name didn’t appear on his most famous and successful work during his lifetime.
—Rosemary Counter, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
Stephan Rabimov, Forbes, 24 May 2021
In addition to keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops and networking, the 2019 Music Biz conference will again take time to recognize both recent and lifetime achievements.
—Gary Graff, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2019
They are viewed as the most restrictive among the 15 states with consecutive or lifetime legislative term limits.
—David Eggert, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2019
Noun
The final award of the evening — the lifetime achievement award — went to the great Mackie, whose documentary of his six-decade career, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, comes out May 13.
—Merle Ginsberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Apr. 2024
Steve Salas will perform and be awarded with a lifetime achievement recognition, and other scheduled performers are Ash Easton, We The Commas and Mitchy Slick. 7 p.m. Tuesday.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2024
For instance, the North Node is symbolic of Hawn’s soul path and the lessons she’s meant to learn in this lifetime, while Russell’s ascendant represents the energetic theme of his life.
—Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 28 Apr. 2024
About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
—Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
The report shows how racial and gender gaps in earnings, retirement savings and emergency savings can contribute to a lifetime lag for individuals and families.
—Isabela Espadas Barros Leal, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
This figure, called the total fertility rate, calculates the average number of births that women will have over their lifetimes if current rates stay the same.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
In January, DownBeat magazine honored Mr. Cuscuna with its award for lifetime achievement in recording.
—Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
Ironically, his name didn’t appear on his most famous and successful work during his lifetime.
—Rosemary Counter, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Getting an Emmy award is a lifetime dream for many.
—Stephan Rabimov, Forbes, 24 May 2021
In addition to keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops and networking, the 2019 Music Biz conference will again take time to recognize both recent and lifetime achievements.
—Gary Graff, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2019
They are viewed as the most restrictive among the 15 states with consecutive or lifetime legislative term limits.
—David Eggert, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lifetime.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lifetime
Cite this Entry
“Lifetime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lifetime. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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