life

The state that lets people, animals, and plants grow, function, and stay alive.

• Plants need water to support life.
• Scientists found no signs of life on the planet.
• The forest is full of animal life.

Opposites: death

Common phrases: signs of life, life on earth, plant life, human life

The time someone or something is alive, from birth until death.

• He lived a long life.
• She spent her whole life near the sea.
• Their lives changed when they moved abroad.

Similar words: lifetime, lifespan

Common phrases: whole life, long life, someone’s life

The state of existing or being active, including for things that are not alive.

• The project gained new life.
• The festival brought the town back to life.
• The old machine came to life with a loud hum.

How to use it: bring something back to life (The investment brought the factory back to life.); come to life (The empty square came to life after sunset.)

Similar words: existence, activity

Common phrases: come to life, back to life, new life

A person or activity that matters more to someone than anything else.

• Music is his life.
• Her children are her whole life.
• The farm had been his life for forty years.

How to use it: someone/something + be + someone’s life (For her, music is her life.)

Similar words: everything

Common phrases: someone’s whole life, someone’s life