life cycle

/ˈlaɪf ˌsaɪ.kəl/

life cycle noun: the course of stages through which an organism passes from fertilized zygote until maturity, reproduction, and death.

Noun

life cycle (plural life cycles)

The course of stages through which an organism passes from fertilized zygote until maturity, reproduction, and death.
- Meronym: life forms
- Plants’ life cycles are an attractive subject of study for citizen science because they are relatively easy to discern. In fact, the name for the field in which we work, phenology, literally means “the science of appearance.” The word was coined just a few years after Thoreau made his phenological...2013 September-October, Kayri Havens, Sandra Henderson, “Citizen Science Takes Root”, in American Scientist
Synonyms:

biological life
(broadly) The useful life of a product or system; the developmental history of an individual or group in society.
- Since it began operating in 1950, Sellafield has had different duties. First it manufactured plutonium for nuclear weapons. Then it generated electricity for the National Grid, until 2003. It also carried out years of fuel reprocessing: extracting uranium and plutonium from nuclear fuel rods after...2022 December 15, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2023

வாழ்க்கைச்சுழல், வாழ்க்கை வட்டம், வாழ்க்கைச் சுழற்சி, வாழ்க்கைச் சுழல், வாழ்க்கைச் சக்கரம், வாழ்க்கைவட்டம்

ಜೀವನ ಚಕ್ರ

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Plants’ life cycles are an attractive subject of study for citizen science because they are relatively easy to discern.2013 September-October, Kayri Havens, Sandra Henderson, “Citizen Science Takes Root”, in American Scientist:
New insights into bee movements and life cycles have been uncovered after researchers tracked the insects using tiny QR codes glued onto their backs.2025 January 28, Jack Guy, “Tiny QR codes help scientists track bee movements”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2025:
It also carried out years of fuel reprocessing: extracting uranium and plutonium from nuclear fuel rods after they’d ended their life cycles.2022 December 15, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian, archived...

plural	life cycles
alternative form	lifecycle

From life + cycle.

What does life cycle mean?: Life cycle means the course of stages through which an organism passes from fertilized zygote until maturity, reproduction, and death.
What is life cycle in Tamil?: Life cycle in Tamil is வாழ்க்கைச்சுழல், வாழ்க்கை வட்டம், வாழ்க்கைச் சுழற்சி. See Life cycle meaning in Tamil.
How do you use life cycle in a sentence?: Plants’ life cycles are an attractive subject of study for citizen science because they are relatively easy to discern.
What part of speech is life cycle?: Life cycle is a noun.
How do you pronounce life cycle?: Life cycle is pronounced /ˈlaɪf ˌsaɪ.kəl/.
What is the plural of life cycle?: The plural of life cycle is life cycles.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-life cycle.wav.

Cite this entry: “life cycle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/life_cycle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.