life preserver
Americannoun
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a buoyant jacket, belt, or other like device for keeping a person afloat.
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British Slang. a weapon, especially a short stick with a weighted head; blackjack.
noun
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a club or bludgeon, esp one kept for self-defence
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a life belt or life jacket
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.
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
If Dopamine, with its low, labor-of-love operating costs, proves economically sustainable, it could be a life preserver in a perfect storm.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2023
Harris and his Commanders may be her life preserver — at a cost.
From Washington Times • Dec. 13, 2023
Divers found him about 30 minutes later after passersby called 911 and threw a life preserver in the water.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 4, 2022
I swarmed up him, over the life preserver, spongy with all its milkweed inside.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
