Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

life jacket

American  

noun

  • life jackets
    plural
  1. a sleeveless jacket of buoyant or inflatable construction, for supporting the wearer in deep water and preventing drowning.


life jacket British  

noun

  1. an inflatable sleeveless jacket worn 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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of life jacket

First recorded in 1865–70


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.

See Examples For:

It started while I was helping my son search the attic for his life jacket.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

“I started on my grandpa’s back, just floating down the creek with a life jacket on,” he told me during a recent phone interview from the Red Rock prison.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Looking like a life jacket thrown into a car compactor, the work weaves a floppy beam of hazard-orange steel around and through a menacing conglomeration of rusty metal scraps.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

It is the only life jacket from the Titanic to be sold at auction in the 114 years since the ship sank, going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

He managed to grab Enzo by the life jacket as he went sailing by him.

From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training