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# lifetime

noun (a lifetime, lifetimes)

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

## Everyday

1. The whole time that a person or animal is alive. [tree →](https://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://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#m2)
3. (informal) A very long time: «I waited a lifetime!» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lifetime/#m3)

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

Interpretation: Tradition reads the rule against marrying two sisters "in her lifetime" as meaning the ban lasts only while the first wife lives. In the primary 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

- And thou shalt not take a woman to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her lifetime. (Torah LEV.18.18, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/lifetime/#x1)

### 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).

## On Mova

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