A Navy acronym (Lazy, Inefficient Fucker Expecting Retirement) used to describe someone who does as little as humanly possible and is just waiting to collect his or her pension.
"That O'Hara is such a fucking lifer. He's so lazy, I bet it's an effort for him to turn in his sleep. Jesus! That fucker moves so slowly you have to look twice just to see if he's moving at all!"
"You're telling me. I heard he's so lazy he married a woman who was pregnant by someone else."
1. One who has remained at a location for an extended amount of time so as to be considered a permanent resident 2. A person with no hope or desire to leave their current environment
1) Someone who voluntarily decided to stay where they are (i.e. for life).
2) (Mil.) An enlisted soldier or officer that decides to re-enlist to go career
1) This place has good pay, great benefits, and nice people. They might just make a lifer out of me.
2) "Who's that?"
"That's Captain Anderson; he started out in the 22nd Armored, but ended up here as a tech. specialist. He's thinking about becoming a lifer."
Someone in the military, especially Navy or Marines, who stays in because he's too scared of civilian life. Not all career military are lifers. Someone who is "career" is respected because they stay in because they like it, whereas a lifer hates being in the military but is too scared they will end up sleeping in their car if they get out (which sometimes happens). A lifer is basicly serving a self-imposed life sentence in the military. Lifers willkiss every ass above them in the chain of command and will try to make everyone else around them as miserable as they are.
"Shipmate, are you going to reenlist? We'll make you a yellow shirt."
"No Chief. I ain't a lifer. I'm gettin' a real job."