: a sturdy buoyant boat (such as one carried by a ship) for use in an emergency and especially in saving lives at sea
Examples of lifeboat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
With no word from the captain, the crew fled to the lifeboats.
—
Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024
Help finally arrived in the form of an orange lifeboat and a pole.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
So many people would have perished if those changes weren’t put into place, lifeboats and bulkheads and things like that.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Several people escaped in the lifeboat and another steamship, the City of New York, responded to the distress call and worked with the Hickox to keep the Milwaukee afloat to no avail.
—Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, 26 Mar. 2024
Repairs have included more than $3 million for rust and hull repairs, and $3.35 million for bulkhead repairs and removing lifeboats.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
Much of the vessel was covered in ice, and crew members struggled to release the lifeboats into the frigid waters.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024
Was there a sales process for lifeboats on the Titanic?
—Emily Mason, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
That footage showed Norman Reedus' Daryl shipwrecked, floating unconscious on top of an overturned lifeboat.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 26 June 2023
Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024
Help finally arrived in the form of an orange lifeboat and a pole.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
So many people would have perished if those changes weren’t put into place, lifeboats and bulkheads and things like that.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Several people escaped in the lifeboat and another steamship, the City of New York, responded to the distress call and worked with the Hickox to keep the Milwaukee afloat to no avail.
—Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, 26 Mar. 2024
Repairs have included more than $3 million for rust and hull repairs, and $3.35 million for bulkhead repairs and removing lifeboats.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
Much of the vessel was covered in ice, and crew members struggled to release the lifeboats into the frigid waters.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024
Was there a sales process for lifeboats on the Titanic?
—Emily Mason, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
That footage showed Norman Reedus' Daryl shipwrecked, floating unconscious on top of an overturned lifeboat.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 26 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lifeboat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lifeboat
Cite this Entry
“Lifeboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lifeboat. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lifeboat
noun
life·boat
-ˌbōt 
: a sturdy boat (as one carried by a ship) for use in an emergency and especially for saving lives at sea
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