Phrase guide

life cycle

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈlaɪf ˌsaɪ.kəl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The course of stages through which an organism passes from fertilized zygote until maturity, reproduction, and death.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

Examples

  • Meronym: life forms

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: biological life

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The useful life of a product or system; the developmental history of an individual or group in society.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a series of stages through which an organism passes between recurrences of a primary stage

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: organic phenomenon

4

noun

Meaning 4

the course of developmental changes in an organism from fertilized zygote to maturity when another zygote can be produced

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: growth, growing, maturation, development, ontogeny, ontogenesis

History

Etymology

From life + cycle.

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: lewensiklus — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Burmese: ဇီဝစက် (jiwa.cak) — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 生命週期 /生命周期 (shēngmìng zhōuqí) — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Danish: livscyklus — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Dutch: levenscyclus — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Finnish: elinkaari — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • French: cycle de vie — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • German: Lebenszyklus — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Indonesian: daur hidup — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Indonesian: siklus hidup — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Irish: timthriall na beatha — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Italian: ciclo di vita — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Italian: ciclo vitale — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Japanese: 生活環 (seikatsukan) — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Japanese: ライフサイクル (raifusaikuru) — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Korean: 라이프 사이클 (raipeu saikeul) — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Malay: kitaran hayat — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Norwegian Bokmål: livssyklus — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: livssyklus — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Persian: چرخه حیات — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Persian: دورزیست — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Polish: cykl życia — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Portuguese: ciclo de vida — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Romanian: ciclu de viață — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Russian: жи́зненный цикл (žíznennyj cikl) — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Spanish: ciclo de vida — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Spanish: ciclo vital — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Swedish: livscykel — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Tagalog: ikot-buhay — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Turkish: yaşam döngüsü — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Vietnamese: vòng đời — course of stages through which an organism passes
  • Afrikaans: lewensiklus — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Chinese Mandarin: 生命週期 /生命周期 (shēngmìng zhōuqī) — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Finnish: elinkaari — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • German: Lebenszyklus — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Italian: ciclo di vita — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Italian: ciclo vitale — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Norwegian Bokmål: livssyklus — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: livssyklus — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Persian: عمر — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Persian: طول عمر — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Portuguese: ciclo de vida — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Romanian: ciclu de viață — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Russian: жи́зненный цикл (žíznennyj cikl) — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group
  • Spanish: ciclo de vida — useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group