life preserver

noun

1
: a device (such as a life jacket or life buoy) designed to save a person from drowning by providing buoyancy in water
2
chiefly British : blackjack sense 2

Examples of life preserver in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
So, even though swimming pool drownings may have increased in the years that actor Nicholas Cage came out with a new movie doesn’t mean that people should use extra life preservers should Cage appear in a new Ghostrider 3 movie or some other cinematic offering. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025 In a tempest of tragedy, basketball was his life preserver. Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025 Cold, weak and blinded by jet fuel, Tirado was barely hanging onto a dangling life preserver before her grip gave out. Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2025 Even Nietzsche, master exposer of escape fantasies, treated Italy as a life preserver. Thomas Meaney, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for life preserver

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of life preserver was in 1819

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Life preserver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life%20preserver. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

life preserver

noun
: a device designed to save a person from drowning by holding up the body while in the water

More from Merriam-Webster on life preserver

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