life cycle

noun

1

: the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage

2

: life history sense 2

3

: a series of stages through which something (such as an individual, culture, or manufactured product) passes during its lifetime

Examples of life cycle in a Sentence

the life cycle of a shark

Recent Examples on the Web

But by compromising datasets, cybercriminals can inject misinformation or malicious code into the AI model training process, causing a ripple effect throughout the entire AI software life cycle. —Vincent Danen, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025

That’s according to Maven Clinic, a digital health-care startup that aims to support patients throughout their reproductive life cycle. —Annika Kim Constantino,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 12 Feb. 2025

This recalls a similar situation from early in the RTX 4090's life cycle, when power connectors were melting and even catching fire, damaging the GPUs and power supplies. —Ars Technica, 10 Feb. 2025

In animals, these hookworms live out a life cycle much like the intestinal cycle described earlier, with the parasites making themselves at home in the animals' small intestines. —Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for life cycle

• recycle
• motorcycle

Kids Definition

life cycle

noun

1

: the series of stages of form and activity through which a living thing passes from a beginning stage (as an egg) in one individual to the same stage in its offspring

2

: life history sense 1

Medical Definition

life cycle

noun

1

: the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage

2

: life history sense 1a