lifelong
/ˈlaɪf.lɔːŋ/adjective
lifelong is spelled L-I-F-E-L-O-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “life-long vs lifelong” about 40 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, lifelong means “Extending for the entire duration of life” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lifelong?
| Letters | 8: L-I-F-E-L-O-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.6 times per million words; the 10,358th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is lifelong?
Lifelong appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lifelong?
- /ˈlaɪf.lɔːŋ/
Lifelong has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lifelong.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lifelong
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: life-long (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of lifelong
- life-long
- life long
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lifelong mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Extending for the entire duration of life.
They were lifelong friends; they met in elementary school and ended their lives in the same rest home.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lifelong in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense extending for the entire duration of life:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | lebenslang |
| Portuguese | vitalício |
| Spanish | vitalicio, de toda la vida |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lifelong come from?
From life + -long.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).