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Synonyms

life preserver

American  

noun

  1. a buoyant jacket, belt, or other like device for keeping a person afloat.

  2. British Slang. a weapon, especially a short stick with a weighted head; blackjack.

life preserver British  

noun

  1. a club or bludgeon, esp one kept for self-defence

  2. a life belt or life jacket

"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 preserver

First recorded in 1630–40

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.

From what we see of Scotty in flashbacks, he was a buoyant blond goofball — exactly the kind of guy that the apparently friendless and family-less Kenna would have clung to like a life preserver.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

I let myself play the victim twice — first of the debt itself, then of the life preserver tossed to bring me back onboard.

From Salon • May 11, 2025

Harris and his Commanders may be her life preserver — at a cost.

From Washington Times • Dec. 13, 2023

I’ve never forgotten that day, and I should have hung a life preserver on my office wall as a stark reminder.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 3, 2023

Gum Baby floated on her back, hugging the journal tightly like a life preserver.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

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.