Definition of "life" [life]

• 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. (noun)
• The characteristic state or condition of a living organism. (noun)
• Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life. (noun)
• A living being, especially a person: an earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives. (noun)
• The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: the artistic life of a writer. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "As 'nightmare' scenario unfolds in one plant, auto union fights for 'American way of life' yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'As \'nightmare\' scenario unfolds in one plant, auto union fights for \'American way of life\ ''; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Article: As bargaining for a new contract begins, GM, Ford and Chrysler will push autoworkers for wage and benefit concessions."
• "This is your life flashing before your eyes, this is your ~life~ passing you by."
• "This literature tends to show subjects 'self-ratings of well-being or happiness are based partly on pleasure, partly on the absence of negative affect, and partly on their views of how well they are achieving the ends they regard as important in life (their ˜life satisfaction™)."