Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

life car

American  

noun

  1. a watertight container used in marine rescue operations, suspended from a hawser and hauled back and forth between a stranded or wrecked vessel and the shore.

Etymology

Origin of life car

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

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.

The Captain pointed out one thing after another, the cork jackets and life-preservers, the gun for shooting the life line across a stranded vessel, the life car hanging from the roof, and the "breeches buoy."

From Cap'n Eri by Lincoln, Joseph Crosby

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.