# life

> English word · Noun · IPA /laɪf/ · frequency rank #134

## Definitions
1. The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living.
2. The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living.
3. The animating principle or force that keeps an inorganic thing or concept metaphorically alive (dynamic, relevant, etc) and makes it a "living document", "living constitution", etc.
4. Lifeforms, generally or collectively.
5. A living being; the fact of a particular individual being alive. (Chiefly when indicating individuals were lost (died) or saved.)
6. Existence.
7. Existence.
8. Existence.
9. Existence.
10. Existence.
11. A period of time during which something has existence.
12. A period of time during which something has existence.
13. A period of time during which something has existence.
14. A period of time during which something has existence.
15. A period of time during which something has existence.
16. A period of time during which something has existence.
17. Animation; spirit; vivacity.
18. Animation; spirit; vivacity.
19. A biography.
20. Nature, reality, and the forms that exist in it.
21. An opportunity for existence.
22. An opportunity for existence.
23. An opportunity for existence.
24. An opportunity for existence.
25. The life insurance industry.
26. A life assured under a life assurance policy (equivalent to the policy itself for a single life contract).

## Etymology
From Middle English lyf, from Old English līf, from Proto-West Germanic *līb, from Proto-Germanic *lībą (“life, body”), from *lībaną (“to remain, stay, be left”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, glue”).
Cognate with Scots life, leif (“life”), Saterland Frisian Lieuw (“body”), West Frisian liif (“body”), Cimbrian laip (“body”), Dutch lijf (“body”) and leven (“life”), German Leib (“body; womb”) and Leben (“life”), Low German Lief (“body; life”), Luxembourgish Leif, Läif (“body”), Vilamovian łaowa (“life”), Yiddish לײַב (layb, “body”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish liv (“life; waist”), Faroese lív (“life”), Icelandic líf (“life”). Related to belive.
The sense "biography" is likely a semantic loan from Medieval Latin vīta (“biography; hagiography”).

## Easily confused with
- **lit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lit)
- **lip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lip)
- **lil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lil)
- **Liz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-liz)
- **lin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lin)
- **Liu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-liu)
- **Liv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-liv)
- **lim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lim)
- **lis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lis)
- **lye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lye)
- **like** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-like)
- **love** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-love)
- **live** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-live)
- **line** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-line)
- **list** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-list)
- **lose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lose)
- **link** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-link)
- **lift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lift)
- **Luke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-luke)
- **lips** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/life-vs-lips)

## Common misspellings (5)
`ilfe`, `lfie`, `lief`, `liffe`, `llife`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/life