[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/lifespan/)

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# lifespan

noun (a lifespan, lifespans); also life span

«lifespan» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A lifespan is how long a person, animal or plant lives, or usually lives. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#m1)
2. A lifespan is how long a thing lasts or works, like a battery or a machine. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons pupils compare lifespans: a mayfly lives a day, a mouse about 2 years, a dog about 12, a human about 80, a Greenland shark hundreds of years. In maths, lifespans are used for subtraction and comparison problems. In everyday life, the lifespan of a phone or light bulb tells how long it lasts. Phrases: «average lifespan», «short lifespan», «expected lifespan».

### Examples

- The average lifespan of a dog is about 12 years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#x1)
- A mayfly has a very short lifespan. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#x2)
- Tortoises can have a lifespan of over 100 years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#x3)
- Human lifespans have grown longer thanks to medicine. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#x4)
- This light bulb has a lifespan of 10,000 hours. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#x5)
- If a cat lives 15 years and a hamster 2 years, the cat's lifespan is 13 years longer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/#x6)

### Note

Countable: a lifespan, lifespans. One word or two (life span). «Average lifespan» or «life expectancy» is an average: many live shorter or longer. Myth: people in the past did not all die at 30; the average was low mainly because many babies died.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «lifespan» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifespan/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«lifespan» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/lifespan.html) on Mova free.