life of its own

noun

An independent existence with some characteristics of life, such as dynamism.

“take on a life of its own”

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Meanings

nouna life of its own (plural lives of their own)

plural lives of their own

  1. idiomaticAn independent existence with some characteristics of life, such as dynamism.

    take on a life of its own

    3 more examples

    Sartre rejects the notion that an imagined character possesses, in any rational sense, "a life of its own".

    1996, George Steiner, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky: An Essay in the Old Criticism, page 181

    […], information takes on not only a speed of its own, but a life of its own.

    2002, John Seely Brown, Paul Duguid, The Social Life of Information, page 18

    A massive hangover with a life of its own kept Fess pinned to his bed most of Sunday.

    2003, Kristin Hunter Lattany, The Lakestown Rebellion, page 185
Cite this entry
APA

life of its own. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/life%20of%20its%20own

MLA

“life of its own.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/life%20of%20its%20own. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “life of its own,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/life%20of%20its%20own.

Source: life of its own on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.