life preserver
Americannoun
-
a buoyant jacket, belt, or other like device for keeping a person afloat.
-
British Slang. a weapon, especially a short stick with a weighted head; blackjack.
noun
-
a club or bludgeon, esp one kept for self-defence
-
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.
The brook flowed past the ruins of that school, and in it were all of the teachers, the principal, and the secretary, too, wearing life preservers, on their way to Canada.
From Literature
Akira grabbed on to the podium like it was a life preserver, and stood there uneasily for a long moment after the applause had stopped.
From Literature
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
In a tempest of tragedy, basketball was his life preserver.
From Los Angeles Times
Landon Knack has been a human life preserver for the Dodgers, an unsung rookie right-hander who has helped keep the rotation afloat when seas get a little rough.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
