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Glite Dictionary
cradle-to-grave

cradle-to-grave

5 7.3
Lasting for a person's whole life or for the whole time something exists
  • adjective
  • /ˈkreɪdəl tə ɡreɪv/
translation icon : de la cuna a la tumba
  • Everybody in the European Union has cradle-to-grave access to universal medical and dental plans by law.
  • cradle-to-grave welfare
  • cradle-to-grave system
  • cradle-to-grave services

And they do have a cradle to grave social, social social support network.

Examples

  • In Life Cycle Analysis, students looked at the environmental consequences associated with the cradle-to-grave life cycle of a process or product.

    Academic text (1996)

  • All members of our society, from cradle to grave, stand to benefit from being musically involved.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Why does an advanced "free society" have to become a cradle-to-grave welfare state?

    Blog text (7)

  • Did they have to settle for just being who they were forever, from cradle to grave?

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Hence, as formal education in the United States finally became a truly cradle-to-grave phenomenon, so also did arts education.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Until recently, those units delivered a vast range of cradle-to-grave welfare services commonly referred to as the "iron rice bowl."

    Academic text (2002)

  • In China, with its state promise of cradle-to-grave security, crisis looms just over the horizon.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Rather than implement a report-laden cradle-to-grave regulatory system, other regulatory measures might yield better results.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Fitzhugh argues that in slavery, unlike in capitalism, the slaves who cannot provide for themselves are looked after from cradle to grave.

    Death of a Nation (2018)

  • The cradle-to-grave approach ensures that individuals receive continuous care and support throughout their lives.

Synonyms

lifelong
vscradle-to-grave
167 3.5

Lasting for a person's whole life

covers whole lifespans and extends to the full duration of things too
from the cradle to the grave
vscradle-to-grave
  • Informal
2 4.0

Lasts from a person's birth to their death

is the shortened hyphenated form often used to modify nouns
womb-to-tomb
vscradle-to-grave
7.4

Covers a person's whole life from birth to death

is the standard hyphenated form used more generally including non-living durations
from womb to tomb
vscradle-to-grave
6.5

Throughout a person's life from birth to death

is the compact hyphenated form usually used as a modifier

How Long

cradle-to-grave
5 7.3
lifelong
167 3.5
long-term
502 3.0
short-term
225 3.3

Surface Forms

cradle-to-grave positive

Morphology

cradle-to-grave = cradle + grave (transparent) = to + cradle + grave

The phrase is a direct compositional pairing meaning 'from birth (cradle) to death (grave)', so its meaning is clear from the components.

Etymology

Cradle-to-grave puts together cradle, a small bed for a baby, and grave, a place where people are buried, to mean 'from birth to death'. So, it describes something that lasts or covers the whole life or every stage of a thing.