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Synonyms

life belt

American  

noun

  1. a beltlike life preserver.

life belt British  

noun

  1. a ring filled with buoyant material or air, used to keep a person afloat when in danger of drowning

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of life belt

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Peter has a 7-month-old baby; Austin is giving his 3-year-old daughter a life belt for Christmas featuring doughnuts, ice cream and a soccer ball.

From Washington Post • Dec. 17, 2015

Usual when growth happens it is for profit without growth of small business who really are the life belt to the citizens and environmentally bad.

From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2014

For other artists, Prozac has been a life belt thrown as they drowned in a sea of depression.

From The Guardian • May 19, 2013

He dropped his pack and two medical bags and jumped in wearing three layers of clothing, a helmet, combat boots and a life belt.

From Washington Post

Dr. Malone felt like a drowning sailor being thrown a life belt.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.