lifeboat

noun

life·​boat ˈlīf-ˌbōt How to pronounce lifeboat (audio)
: a sturdy buoyant boat (such as one carried by a ship) for use in an emergency and especially in saving lives at sea

Examples of lifeboat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Four crew members were stranded in a lifeboat for 19 days, rescued only after three of them had killed and eaten the fourth. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024 Al was the one-man lifeboat when the Warriors were terrible and terribly run. Tim Kawakami, The Athletic, 22 Aug. 2024 Over the next 308 days, the men faced starvation and frostbite as Shackleton recruited five crew members to make the treacherous journey in a lifeboat to seek help on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia. Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024 But their stint in orbit was extended so that their Dragon spacecraft could serve as an emergency lifeboat for two astronauts who flew to space aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule. Denise Chow, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lifeboat 

Word History

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lifeboat was in 1797

Dictionary Entries Near lifeboat

Cite this Entry

“Lifeboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lifeboat. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

lifeboat

noun
life·​boat -ˌbōt How to pronounce lifeboat (audio)
: a sturdy boat (as one carried by a ship) for use in an emergency and especially for saving lives at sea
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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