lifesaver

[lahyf-sey-ver]

noun

1. a person who rescues another from danger of death, especially from drowning.

2. a person or thing that saves a person, as from a difficult situation or critical moment.

   That money was a lifesaver.

3. Chiefly British.,  a lifeguard.

Other Word Forms

• lifesaving adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lifesaver¹

First recorded in 1880–85; life + saver ( def. )

Example Sentences

This new capital has been a lifesaver for private-equity firms, many of which have struggled to raise money from institutional investors for nearly four years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"People will say to us 'oh, it's a lifesaver'," she said.

Read more on BBC

"This will be a lifesaver to them," Kennedy said.

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But it didn’t yield era-defining singles like the pandemic lifesaver “Future Nostalgia” did.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"Clients have said to us that we're lifesavers and without us people have admitted they would be forced to shoplift just to survive," Mr Lucas said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• benevolence 
• blessing 
• charity 
• clemency 
• forgiveness 
• generosity 
• goodwill 
• grace 
• leniency 
• pity 
• sympathy 
• tolerance