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# lifetime

«lifetime» in Mova's school dictionary: **alive** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a lifetime, lifetimes)

### meaning for a pupil

1) The whole time that a person or animal is alive. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#m1)

2) The time that a thing lasts or works: «the lifetime of a battery». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#m2)

3) (informal) A very long time: «I waited a lifetime!» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science: the lifetime of a mayfly is very short, a tortoise's very long. In stories: «a once-in-a-lifetime chance» means a rare chance. In everyday life: «a lifetime guarantee». Phrases: «in my lifetime», «once in a lifetime», «the trip of a lifetime», «a lifetime of».

### examples

- A tortoise's lifetime can be over a hundred years. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#x1)
- Seeing a whale was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#x2)
- The battery has a lifetime of about two years. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#x3)
- We waited a lifetime for the bus! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#x4)
- Many changes happened in Grandma's lifetime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#x5)
- It was the trip of a lifetime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#x6)
- Let us look at him as he was in his lifetime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#x7)

### note

Countable. One word. «Once in a lifetime» (hyphenated before a noun: a once-in-a-lifetime trip). Compare «lifespan» (how long something usually lives).

### In the corpora

- [Sharks lose teeth all the time and grow new ones from the rows behind, some tens of thousands in a lifetime.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/28-sharks/5/)
- [Some friendships last a lifetime, kept alive by lots of small calls and visits over years.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/461-how-best-friends-start/33/)
- [Some friendships last a lifetime.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/482-mums-best-friend-and-dads-mate-from-work/22/)
- [Friendships last a lifetime when people keep showing up for each other.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/482-mums-best-friend-and-dads-mate-from-work/37/)
- [Real rulers lived ordinary lifetimes and passed power to others, and a change of ruler often changed a country's direction.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «lifetime» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.