lifeline

[ lahyf-lahyn ]

/ ˈlaɪfˌlaɪn /

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See synonyms for lifeline on Thesaurus.com

noun

a line, fired across a ship or boat, by means of which a hawser for a breeches buoy may be hauled aboard.

a line or rope for saving life, as one attached to a lifeboat.

any of various lines running above the decks, spars, etc., of a ship or boat to give sailors something to grasp when there is danger of falling or being washed away.

a wire safety rope supported by stanchions along the edge of the deck of a yacht.

the line by which a diver is lowered and raised.

any of several anchored lines used by swimmers for support.

a route or means of transportation or communication for receiving or delivering food, medicine, or assistance: This road is the town's lifeline and must be kept open despite the snow.

assistance at a critical time.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of lifeline

First recorded in 1690–1700; life + line¹

Words nearby lifeline

life is too short, life jacket, lifeless, life lesson, lifelike, lifeline, life list, lifelong, lifelong learning, lifemanship, life mask

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lifeline in a sentence

There are also few other ways to look at this deal, beyond Uber’s own decision to double down on its lifeline in the pandemic, food delivery.
Uber pays $1.1 billion for Drizly|Lucinda Shen|February 2, 2021|Fortune
The stimulus check he just received was a lifeline for food and rent.
Cutting off stimulus checks to Americans earning over $75,000 could be wise, new data suggests|Heather Long|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
A federal economic relief package passed by Congress in March promised to provide a lifeline for hospitals, particularly those in rural communities where many facilities struggled to survive even before the coronavirus pandemic.
How the CARES Act Forgot America’s Most Vulnerable Hospitals|by Brianna Bailey, The Frontier|January 26, 2021|ProPublica
Yet not all lower- and middle-income nations are waiting for a lifeline.
Public health officials warn about slow vaccine rollout as coronavirus variants multiply|Katherine Dunn|January 18, 2021|Fortune

In the midst of a pandemic, when companies of all sizes have struggled, Amazon undoubtedly extended a lifeline to more than a few.
Small businesses’ holiday success on Amazon comes at a cost|Marc Bain|December 30, 2020|Quartz
These images, videos and messages became a lifeline between two worlds and a stark record of the distance between them.
War Is About More Than Heroes, Martyrs, and Patriots|Nathan Bradley Bethea|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They severed the last railroad lifeline into Atlanta, making the Citadel of the Confederacy as it was touted no longer tenable.
Atlanta’s Fall Foretold The End Of Civil War Bloodshed|Marc Wortman|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The third and final “lifeline” asked whether von Trier related to his female protagonists as well as his male ones.
Lars von Trier Breaks His Vow of Silence to Discuss ‘Nymphomaniac’ in Venice|Marlow Stern|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The second “lifeline” was what von Trier had learned about female sexuality by making Nymphomaniac.
Lars von Trier Breaks His Vow of Silence to Discuss ‘Nymphomaniac’ in Venice|Marlow Stern|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To step inside Madison Square Garden was to grab hold of a lifeline to an alternate world of harmonic order and balance.
‘When the Garden Was Eden’: Why New York City Needs the Knicks Now More Than Ever|Robert Silverman|April 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ten months of siege followed as Grant methodically cut the Confederate 39 lifeline.
Manasses (Bull Run) National Battlefield Park-Virginia|Francis F. Wilshin
Even so, he didn't unshackle his inward-reeling lifeline till he was inside the chamber.
Industrial Revolution|Poul William Anderson
Occasionally a lifeline was rigged along the well deck to the poop quarters, a by no means unnecessary precaution.
Five Months on a German Raider|Frederic George Trayes
A cheer burst from the throats of the Boy Scouts as they tailed on the lifeline, and walked backward from the tree with it.
The Boy Scouts On The Range|Lieut. Howard Payson
Even these hardy men of the wild dared not venture beyond their door without the lifeline which was always kept handy.
In the Brooding Wild|Ridgwell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for lifeline

lifeline

/ (ˈlaɪfˌlaɪn) /

noun

a line thrown or fired aboard a vessel for hauling in a hawser for a breeches buoy

any rope or line attached to a vessel or trailed from it for the safety of passengers, crew, swimmers, etc

a line by which a deep-sea diver is raised or lowered

a vital line of access or communication

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

lifeline

Origin of lifeline

Words nearby lifeline

Words related to lifeline

How to use lifeline in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lifeline