life cycle

plural life cycles · alternative lifecycle

1. biologyThe course of stages through which an organism passes from fertilized zygote until maturity, reproduction, and death.

   Meronym: life forms

   2 more examples

   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 observations, from the Greek phaino (to show or appear) and logos (to study).

   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

   Synonyms: biological life

2. broadlyThe useful life of a product or system; the developmental history of an individual or group in society.

   1 more example

   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 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 from the original on 22 Apr 2023