life of its own

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

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

1. (idiomatic) An independent existence with some characteristics of life.

   take on a life of its own

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

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

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

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

   • 2003, Kristin Hunter Lattany, The Lakestown Rebellion, page 185:

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

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with take one's own life.

Further reading

• “take on a life of its own”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.