life's worth
- noun
- As scientific breakthroughs help overturn more convictions of wrongly imprisoned people, the new crime is how little their lost lives are worth.
- life is worth living
- know what their life's worth
- life was worth more
Examples
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If you had to put a price tag on it, what would you say your life's worth?
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"One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name."
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How much you think their two lives are worth?
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The woman said that it was the services provided by A Safe Place that made her realize her life is worth living.
Blog text (8) -
In my opinion, my life is worth a few extra bucks.
Blog text (8) -
Personally, I feel my life's worth more than that.
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It will cost you more than your life's worth if you jest with me.
Fiction book (1998) -
Many people struggle to find out what their life's worth truly is as they grow older.
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He reflected on his experiences to understand what his life's worth was beyond material success.
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The therapy sessions helped her realize that her life's worth comes from the love she shares with others.
Synonyms
Something that has a clear purpose or value
The quality of having worth or importance
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Morphology
life's + worth
The meaning 'the total value or significance of a person's life' is directly derivable from combining 'life's' (the possessive form of life) with 'worth' (value). This possessive + noun composition is a standard, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Life's worth comes from a simple image: people imagined a price tag or a scale on someone's life to measure its worth. That's why life's worth means the 'value' or 'importance' of a person's life.