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Definition

noun

The whole life history of an organism, usually depicted through a series of developmental stages (e.g. from zygote into a mature form where another zygote can be produced) in which an organism goes through.

Supplement

Life cycle entails the course of development of an organism, i.e. from the time of inception to growth to finally maturity when an organism can viably produce another of its kind.

In certain organisms, life cycle includes the different generations of species. For instance, a life cycle of an angiosperm involves both the sporophyte and gametophyte generations.

Related terms:

• Life cycle stages
• Life-cycle costing
• Direct life cycle
• Indirect life cycle