A prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives; "he got life for killing the guard" the organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms from nonliving ones; "there is no life on the moon" a motive for living; "pottery was his life" living things collectively; "the oceans are teeming with life" a living person; "his heroism saved a life" the period from the present until death; "he appointed himself emperor for life" an account of the series of events making up a person's life animation and energy in action or expression; "it was a heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to it" the period between birth and the present time; "I have known him all his life" the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death); "the battery had a short life"; "he lived a long and happy life" the condition of living or the state of being alive; "while there's life there's hope"; "life depends on many chemical and physical processes" the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities; "he could no longer cope with the complexities of life" the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living; "he hoped for a new life in Australia"; "he wanted to live his own life without interference from others" a characteristic state or mode of living; "social life"; "city life"; "real life"
(of siblings) related through one parent only; "a half brother"; "half sister" partial; "gave me a half smile"; "he did only a half job" consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity; "a half chicken"; "lasted a half hour" partially or to the extent of a half; "he was half hidden by the bushes" in various games or performances: either of two periods of play separated by an interval one of two equal parts of a divisible whole; "half a loaf"; "half an hour"; "a century and one half"