- life
- noun1 living thingsADJECTIVE▪ intelligent▪
Is there intelligent life on other planets?
▪ animal, bird, human, insect, plant▪ aquatic, marine▪ extraterrestrialLIFE + NOUN▪ form▪ cycle▪ sciences2 existenceADJECTIVE▪ eternal, everlasting▪ past, previousVERB + LIFE▪ lose▪He lost his life in an air crash.
▪ bring sb back to, restore sb to▪ cling to, fight for▪She clung to life for several weeks.
▪ jeopardize, risk▪She risked her life for the sake of the children.
▪ endanger, threaten▪ protect, save▪a drug that will save lives
▪ spare▪She begged the soldiers to spare her son's life.
▪ give, lay down, sacrifice▪ claim, cost▪The crash claimed 43 lives.
▪His foolishness almost cost him his life.
▪ end, take▪She took her own life.
▪ value▪ start (figurative)▪The hotel started life as a prison.
LIFE + VERB▪ be lost▪No lives were lost in the accident.
LIFE + NOUN▪ assurance (BrE), insurance▪ jacket, preserver (AmE), vest (AmE)▪ boat, raft▪ saver▪ support▪She's critically ill, on life support.
▪a life-support machine
▪a life-support system
PHRASES▪ an attempt on sb's life▪There have been three attempts on the president's life.
▪ in fear for your life, in fear of your life▪Witnesses are living in fear for their life after giving evidence against the gang.
▪ life after death▪Do you believe in life after death?
▪ loss of life▪The plane crashed with heavy loss of life.
▪ a matter of life and death▪These talks are a matter of life and death for the factory. (figurative)
▪ owe sb your life▪I owe my life to the the doctors at the hospital.
▪ the right to life▪ signs of life▪The driver showed no signs of life.
3 period between birth and deathADJECTIVE▪ long, short▪ entire, whole▪ early▪ adult▪ later▪In later life he took up writing.
▪ past, previous▪He never discussed the unhappiness of his past life.
▪I think I may have been an animal in a previous life.
▪ future, next▪ working▪He was a miner all his working life.
VERB + LIFE▪ go through, live, spend▪She went through life always wanting what she couldn't get.
▪He spent his whole life in Rhode Island.
▪ end▪He ended his life a happy man.
▪ shorten▪ prolong▪ dedicate, devote▪He devoted his life to the education of deaf children.
LIFE + NOUN▪ history, story▪ membership▪ imprisonment, sentence▪ expectancy, span (usually lifespan)▪Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.
▪the lifespan of a mouse
▪ mate (AmE), partnerPREPOSITION▪ for life▪She thought marriage should be for life.
▪ in your life▪for the first time in her life
▪ throughout your life▪Throughout her life she was dogged by loneliness.
PHRASES▪ all your life▪I've known her all my life.
▪ at sb's time of life▪At his time of life he should be starting to take things easy.
▪ the end of your life▪Her paintings became more obscure towards/toward the end of her life.
▪ late in life▪She discovered jazz quite late in life.
▪ the … of your life▪I had the fright of my life when I saw the snake in my bed.
▪He met the love of his life at college.
▪ a phase in (sb's) life, a phase of (sb's) life, a stage in (sb's) life, a stage of (sb's) life▪She sensed she was entering a new phase in her life.
▪ the prime of life▪You're still in the prime of life.
▪ the remainder of your life, the rest of your life▪He'll be haunted by the crash for the rest of his life.
4 activity in the worldADJECTIVE▪ daily, day-to-day, everyday, ordinary▪ real▪a real-life drama
▪ modern▪ personal, private▪She did not tolerate press intrusion into her private life.
▪ inner▪Only his wife had access to his inner life.
▪ family, married▪ domestic, home▪ social▪ love, sex▪ public▪His fame was so sudden that he was unprepared for public life.
▪ academic, business, cultural, economic, intellectual, political, professional, school, spiritual▪ civic▪ night (usually nightlife)▪What's the nightlife like in the town?
▪ city, village, etc.▪ rural, urbanVERB + LIFE▪ build, rebuild▪He built his whole life around his children.
▪She is still rebuilding her life after the accident.
LIFE + VERB▪ be complicated, be unfair▪ be precious, be sacredPHRASES▪ an attitude to life, an outlook on life, a philosophy of life, a view of life▪I've always had a fairly optimistic outlook on life.
▪ a love of life▪He always had a great love of life.
▪ a man in your life, a woman in your life▪There has only been one woman in her life.
▪ see sth of life▪I wanted to see something of life before I settled down.
▪ the … side of life▪His time in London was his first glimpse of the seamier side of life.
▪ want sth from of life, want sth out of life▪They both seem to want the same things out of life.
5 way of livingADJECTIVE▪ fulfilling, good, great, happy, perfect, wonderful▪ lonely, miserable, sad, unhappy▪ boring▪ difficult, hard▪ easy▪ charmed▪ active, busy, hectic▪ exciting▪ full▪ peaceful, quiet▪ simple▪ normal, ordinary▪ healthy▪ sheltered▪ double▪He had been leading a double life, married to two women.
▪ secretVERB + LIFE▪ have, lead, live▪She leads a busy social life.
▪ enjoy▪ change▪Learning meditation changed her life.
▪ dominate, take over▪He never let his work dominate his life.
▪ ruin▪He ruined his life through drinking.
▪ enrichPHRASES▪ build a new life, make a new life, start a new life▪They went to Australia to start a new life.
▪ enjoy life to the full, live life to the full▪He always believed in living life to the full.
▪ the high life▪They were enjoying the high life in the smartest hotels of New York.
▪ live a life of …▪They're living a life of luxury in the Bahamas.
▪ a/the pace of life▪The pace of life is much gentler on the island.
▪ the quality of life▪He gave up his high-flying job and now enjoys a better quality of life.
▪ a way of life▪She loved the Spanish way of life and immediately felt at home there.
6 livelinessVERB + LIFE▪ come to▪The city only comes to life at night.
▪ breathe, bring sth to, inject▪They need some new, younger staff to breathe some life into the company.
▪ burst with, hum with, teem with▪a child bursting with life
PHRASES▪ breathe new life into sb/sth▪He hopes the development will breathe new life into the community.
▪ full of life▪It's nice to see an old man still so full of life.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
