life cycle

noun

1

: the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage

2

: life history sense 2

3

: a series of stages through which something (such as an individual, culture, or manufactured product) passes during its lifetime

Examples of life cycle in a Sentence

the life cycle of a shark

Recent Examples on the Web

Final Thoughts The shift to composable architecture seems to be the next step in the evolutionary life cycle of PayTechs. —Sabeer Nelliparamban, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

The 49th annual event honors visionaries across all sectors of the apparel and footwear industry, including design, manufacturing and retail, and the full product life cycle. —Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 14 Jan. 2025

The idea is to extend the helmet's overall life cycle by using selective recycling to change the linear process into a circular one. —New Atlas, 3 Jan. 2025

Generally, stars of the same size and temperature share the same evolutionary life cycles, writes Korey Haynes for Astronomy magazine. —Gayoung Lee, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

life cycle

noun

1

: the series of stages of form and activity through which a living thing passes from a beginning stage (as an egg) in one individual to the same stage in its offspring

2

: life history sense 1

Medical Definition

life cycle

noun

1

: the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage

2

: life history sense 1a