noun
-
a boat, propelled by oars or a motor, used for rescuing people at sea, escaping from a sinking ship, etc
-
informal a fund set up by the dealers in a market to rescue any member who may become insolvent as a result of a collapse in market prices
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lifeboat
Explanation
A lifeboat is a small boat that's kept on a bigger ship in case of emergency. It’s much more fun than a deathboat. Large ships usually have enough lifeboats for every passenger on board. Hear that, Titanic? When the giant ship Titanic sank, there weren’t enough lifeboats for everyone. If you’re on a ship that’s going down, a lifeboat (one word) could save your life. Some lifeboats are made of hard materials like fiberglass, while others are inflatable. Another kind of lifeboat is launched from shore or a Coast Guard ship to rescue people who need help at sea, if, for example, they're on a sinking fishing boat.
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:
Two boys were loaded onto a lifeboat with one, aged 7, airlifted to hospital where he remains in a critical condition.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
"Both casualties were brought ashore at New Quay's main pier, in Ceredigion, and handed into the care of the Welsh Ambulance Service, before being transferred to hospital," New Quay lifeboat station said.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
In a time of distress, like a recession, “there’s a pecking order to who gets in the lifeboat first,” Ed Al-Hussainy, portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, told Barron’s late last year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
In Q lab, one scientist mentions discovering the "lifeboat with a minibar" that appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me, observing: "I guess things were different in the 80s."
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
It was when I looked up at a lifeboat on the bridge castle that I started to worry.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
The ship was equipped with 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts, Edghill said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
They lower themselves into one of the few lifeboats, leaving Jim on deck: Should he flee like a rat or wake the sleeping passengers, knowing that they, and he, cannot survive?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Here are some of our favorite lifeboats during a year of rough seas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
He said that when they got the call on Saturday, they immediately launched two lifeboats.
From BBC ● May 12, 2025
And now the Boss directed the lifeboats, equipment, and stores to be transferred onto the ice beside Endurance.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
