come to life


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

life

 (līf)
n. pl. lives (līvz)
1.
a. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.
b. The characteristic state or condition of a living organism.
2. Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life.
3. A living being, especially a person: an earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives.
4. The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: the artistic life of a writer.
5.
a. The interval of time between birth and death: She led a good, long life.
b. The interval of time between one's birth and the present: has had hay fever all his life.
c. A particular segment of one's life: my adolescent life.
d. The period from an occurrence until death: elected for life; paralyzed for life.
e. Slang A sentence of imprisonment lasting till death.
6. The time for which something exists or functions: the useful life of a car.
7. A spiritual state regarded as a transcending of corporeal death.
8. An account of a person's life; a biography.
9. Human existence, relationships, or activity in general: real life; everyday life.
10.
a. A manner of living: led a hard life.
b. A specific, characteristic manner of existence. Used of inanimate objects: "Great institutions seem to have a life of their own, independent of those who run them" (New Republic).
c. The activities and interests of a particular area or realm: musical life in New York.
11.
a. A source of vitality; an animating force: She's the life of the show.
b. Liveliness or vitality; animation: a face that is full of life.
12.
a. Something that actually exists regarded as a subject for an artist: painted from life.
b. Actual environment or reality; nature.
adj.
1. Of or relating to animate existence; involved in or necessary for living: life processes.
2. Continuing for a lifetime; lifelong: life partner; life imprisonment.
3. Using a living model as a subject for an artist: a life sculpture.
Idioms:
as big as life
1. Life-size.
2. Actually present.
bring to life
1. To cause to regain consciousness.
2. To put spirit into; animate.
3. To make lifelike.
come to life
To become animated; grow excited.
for dear life
Desperately or urgently: I ran for dear life when I saw the tiger.
for life
Till the end of one's life.
for the life of (one)
Though trying hard: For the life of me I couldn't remember his name.
not on your life Informal
Absolutely not; not for any reason whatsoever.
take (one's) life
To commit suicide.
take (one's) life in (one's) hands
To take a dangerous risk.
take (someone's) life
To commit murder.
the good life
A wealthy, luxurious way of living.
the life of Riley Informal
An easy life.
the life of the party Informal
An animated, amusing person who is the center of attention at a social gathering.
to save (one's) life
No matter how hard one tries: He can't ski to save his life.
true to life
Conforming to reality.

[Middle English, from Old English līf; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.come to life - be born or come into existence; "All these flowers come to life when the rains come"
be born - come into existence through birth; "She was born on a farm"
2.come to life - be lifelike, as of a painting; "If you look at it long enough, this portrait comes to life!"
resemble - appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to; "She resembles her mother very much"; "This paper resembles my own work"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
يُصْبِحُ حَيَوِيّاً
nabýt životaoživnout
blive levende
lifna viî, verîa fjörugur/áhugaverîur
canlanmakilginç olmak

life

(laif) plural lives (laivz) noun
1. the quality belonging to plants and animals which distinguishes them from rocks, minerals etc and things which are dead. Doctors are fighting to save the child's life.
2. the period between birth and death. He had a long and happy life.
3. liveliness. She was full of life and energy.
4. a manner of living. She lived a life of ease and idleness.
5. the period during which any particular state exists. He had many different jobs during his working life.
6. living things. It is now believed that there may be life on Mars; animal life.
7. the story of a life. He has written a life of Churchill.
8. life imprisonment. He was given life for murder.
ˈlifeless adjective
1. dead. a lifeless body.
2. not lively; uninteresting. The actress gave a lifeless performance.
ˈlifelike adjective
like a living person, animal etc. The statue was very lifelike; a lifelike portrait.
life-and-ˈdeath adjective
serious and deciding between life and death. a life-and-death struggle.
ˈlifebelt noun
a ring or belt filled with air or made of a material which floats, for keeping a person afloat.
ˈlifeboat noun
a boat for saving shipwrecked people.
ˈlifebuoy noun
a buoy intended to support a person in the water till he can be rescued.
ˈlife-cycle noun
the various stages through which a living thing passes. the life-cycle of the snail.
life expectancy
the (average) length of time a person can expect to live.
ˈlifeguard noun
a person employed to protect and rescue swimmers at a swimming-pool, beach etc.
ˈlife-jacket noun
a sleeveless jacket filled with material that will float, for keeping a person afloat.
ˈlifeline noun
a rope for support in dangerous operations or thrown to rescue a drowning person.
ˈlifelong adjective
lasting the whole length of a life. a lifelong friendship.
ˈlife-saving noun
the act or skill of rescuing people from drowning. The boy is being taught life-saving.
ˈlife-size(d) adjective, adverb
(of a copy, drawing etc) as large as the original. a life-sized statue.
ˈlifetime noun
the period of a person's life. He saw many changes in his lifetime.
as large as life
in person; actually. I went to the party and there was John as large as life.
bring to life
to make lively or interesting. His lectures really brought the subject to life.
come to life
to become lively or interesting. The play did not come to life until the last act.
for life
until death. They became friends for life.
the life and soul of the party
a person who is very active, enthusiastic, amusing etc at a party.
not for the life of me
not even if it was necessary in order to save my life. I couldn't for the life of me remember his name!
not on your life!
certainly not!. `Will you get married?' `Not on your life!'
take life
to kill. It is a sin to take life.
take one's life
to kill oneself.
take one's life in one's hands
to take the risk of being killed.
to the life
exactly (like). When he put on that uniform, he was Napoleon to the life.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
In an Instagrampost by B/R Kicks, a video shows a James' poster inside a Foot Locker store seemingly come to life and dunk on an augmented reality basket.
There is a scene where the kids' toys come to life and put them an trial for treating them badly called "Temper Temper." It's a bit spooky the way the toys come to life.
Excellent tales come to life in the full cast audio performances.