Definition of "nine-lived" [nine-lived]

• Having nine lives, as the cat is humorously said to have; hence, not easy to kill; escaping great perils or surviving grave wounds or hurts: as, a reckless nine-lived fellow.

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "Though he could not drown, and was nine-lived in addition, he was suffering all the agonies of half-drowning."
• "This nine-lived notion of male supremacy in inheritance was rather reinforced than removed by the breeding of domestic animals in the still more recent past."
• "She had a constitution like a nine-lived cat, and her active outdoor life kept her blood in perfect condition, and it was not long before she began to get the upper hand of the fever."