The life cycle of an animal or plant is the series of changes and developments that it passes through from the beginning of its life until its death.
The dormant period is another stage in the life cycle of the plant. [+ of]
2. countable noun
The life cycle of something such as an idea, product, or organization is the series of developments that take place in it from its beginning until the end of its usefulness.
...the stages of the familial and economic life cycle.
Each new product would have a relatively long life cycle.
life cycle in British English
noun
the series of changes occurring in an animal or plant between one development stage and the identical stage in the next generation
life cycle in American English
1.
the series of developmental changes in form undergone by a particular type of organism from its earliest stage to the recurrence of the same stage in the next generation
2.
any series of changes like this
Examples of 'life cycle' in a sentence
life cycle
The dormant period is another stage in the life cycle of the plant.
Eddison, Sydney A Patchwork Garden: Unexpected Pleasures from a Country Garden (1990)
This was surprising because most of us thought that the product was near the end of its life cycle.
Piercy, Nigel Market-led Strategic Change (1991)
Our welfare system rests on the willingness of one generation to support the other at different stages in the life cycle.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
By definition, any plant with a life cycle of more than two years is perennial.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
I've been a dad long enough to know the life cycle of a new toy.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Interactive look at plants' life cycles, beauty and relationship with insects and animals.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
life cycle
British English: life cycle NOUN
The life cycle of an animal or plant is the series of changes that happen to it from the beginning of its life until its death.
The dormant period is another stage in the life cycle of the plant.