(living things collectively)

  • 1life — or get a life [līf] n. pl. lives [ME < OE līf, akin to ON líf, life, Ger leib, body < IE base * leibh , to LIVE1] 1. that property or quality of plants and animals that distinguishes them from inorganic matter or dead organisms; specif.,… …

    English World dictionary

  • 2life — /laɪf / (say luyf) noun (plural lives) 1. the condition which distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic objects and dead organisms. The distinguishing manifestations of life are: growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of… …

  • 3life — /luyf/, n., pl. lives /luyvz/, adj. n. 1. the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through… …

    Universalium

  • 4life — [[t]laɪf[/t]] n. pl. lives (līvz), adj. 1) bio the general condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, a means of reproduction, and internal regulation in… …

    From formal English to slang

  • 5Europe, history of — Introduction       history of European peoples and cultures from prehistoric times to the present. Europe is a more ambiguous term than most geographic expressions. Its etymology is doubtful, as is the physical extent of the area it designates.… …

    Universalium

  • 6arts, East Asian — Introduction       music and visual and performing arts of China, Korea, and Japan. The literatures of these countries are covered in the articles Chinese literature, Korean literature, and Japanese literature.       Some studies of East Asia… …

    Universalium

  • 7Life Sciences — ▪ 2009 Introduction Zoology       In 2008 several zoological studies provided new insights into how species life history traits (such as the timing of reproduction or the length of life of adult individuals) are derived in part as responses to… …

    Universalium

  • 8David Attenborough — Sir David Attenborough David Attenborough, May 2003 Born …

    Wikipedia

  • 9plant — plantable, adj. plantless, adj. plantlike, adj. /plant, plahnt/, n. 1. any member of the kingdom Plantae, comprising multicellular organisms that typically produce their own food from inorganic matter by the process of photosynthesis and that… …

    Universalium

  • 10microbiology — microbiological /muy kroh buy euh loj i keuhl/, microbiologic, adj. microbiologically, adv. microbiologist, n. /muy kroh buy ol euh jee/, n. the branch of biology dealing with the structure, function, uses, and modes of existence of microscopic… …

    Universalium