sex life

/ˈsɛksˌlaɪf/

noun

That part of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity.

Meanings

nounsex life (plural sex lives)

plural sex lives

  1. That part of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity.

    1900 January 27, Swami Vivekananda, My Life And Mission, in The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 8: Lectures And Discourses, But I cannot live the sex life, although I have married you.

    4 more examples

    It not infrequently happens that after a love-marriage and some years of what is considered happiness, the man or woman may withdraw from the sex-life, often looking down upon it, and considering that they have reached a higher plane by so doing. But such people seldom ask themselves if, while they lived it, they reached the highest possible level of the sex-life.

    1918, Marie Stopes, Married Love, section 8

    Do you think I don't know the foulness of your sex life—and her's?—I do.

    1920 November 9, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter XXIII, in Women in Love, New York, N.Y.: Privately printed [by Thomas Seltzer] for subscribers only, →OCLC

    In the human animal, speaking in general, these feelings of sympathy (love) and duty are strongly developed in the family connection; that is, they are developed with special strength in those who are most intimately united in sex life, in husband and wife and in children.

    1922, Henry Stanton, chapter X, in Sex: Avoided Subjects Discussed in Plain English

    Have you read any good books lately? Oh and by the way, how is your sex life? According to Daniel Lord Smail activities like these are the true drivers of history.

    2008 January 24, Steven Mithen, “When We Were Nicer”, in London Review of Books, volume 30, number 02, →ISSN

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 性生活
  • 性生活 (xìngshēnghuó)part of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Danish sexliv, kønsliv
  • sexlivpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
  • kønslivpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Finnish sukupuolielämä, seksielämä
  • sukupuolielämäpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
  • seksielämäpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
French vie sexuelle
  • vie sexuellepart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
German Liebesleben, Sexleben
  • Liebeslebenpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
  • Sexlebenpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Icelandic kynlíf
  • kynlífpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Irish saol gnéis
  • saol gnéispart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Japanese 性生活
  • 性生活 (seiseikatsu)part of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Lithuanian lytinis gyvenimas
  • lytinis gyvenimaspart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Norwegian Bokmål sexliv, seksualliv
  • sexlivpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
  • seksuallivpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Polish życie seksualne, życie płciowe
  • życie seksualnepart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
  • życie płciowepart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Portuguese vida sexual
  • vida sexualpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Russian сексуа́льная жизнь
  • сексуа́льная жизнь (sɛksuálʹnaja žiznʹ)part of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Spanish vida sexual
  • vida sexualpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Swedish sexliv
  • sexlivpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Turkish cinsel yaşam, cinsel hayat
  • cinsel yaşampart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
  • cinsel hayatpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
  • seks hayatıpart of a person's life that is directly concerned with sexual activity
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: sex life on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.