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general::
noun ADJ. long wisdom gained in the course of a long lifetime | short A lifetime is too short for all the great books there are! | entire, whole VERB + LIFETIME devote, spend He devoted a lifetime to working with disabled children. | take (sb) It took a whole lifetime to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance. | last (sb) This watch should last you a lifetime. | seem (like) It seems a lifetime since we first met. LIFETIME + NOUN achievement The veteran director won a lifetime achievement award. | employment, income Payments are based on expected lifetime income. | lifetime's experience, lifetime's work PREP. after a ~ After a lifetime as a journalist in the troublespots of the world, he retired to the country. | during your ~ I've seen many changes during my lifetime. | in your ~ The artist was little known in his lifetime. | of a ~ It was the holiday of a lifetime! | ~ in She spent a lifetime in politics. | ~ of a lifetime of problems PHRASES the habits of a lifetime It's hard to break the habits of a lifetime. | half a lifetime, a legend in your own lifetime Herbert von Karajan was a legend in his own lifetime. | a lifetime ago/away University seems a half a lifetime away. | once in a lifetime That sort of thing happens only once in a lifetime.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary