new lease of life

English

Alternative forms

• new lease on life (later form, chiefly US)

Noun

new lease of life (plural new leases of life) (chiefly UK)

1. An opportunity to live longer than was expected, due to some kind of reprieve.

   The heart transplant has given him a new lease of life.

   The facelift proposed for the old theatre may well give it a new lease of life.

   • 1951 March, “Reconstruction of London Transport Rolling Stock”, in Railway Magazine, page 162:

     All electrical equipment is to be thoroughly overhauled and modernised to bring it into line with up-to-date practice and the body work renovated so that the cars will return to service with a new lease of life.

   • 2022 September 21, Ben Jones, “IC225s: the Electras go gliding on”, in RAIL, number 966, page 38:

     A major mid-life overhaul and modification programme undertaken by GNER in the mid-2000s gave the IC225s a fresh lease of life, and now LNER and Eversholt Leasing are treating their remaining trains to a further facelift.

2. (figuratively) An opportunity for an improved quality of life, due to some change in circumstances.

   The latest developments in drugs to treat patients with bipolar disorders have given many a new lease of life.

References

• “a new lease of life”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “a new lease of life” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “a new lease of life” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.