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.
Zosia compares it to seeing someone drowning in a lake and throwing them a life preserver. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025 Wyck briefly gets lost at sea with a life preserver, but eventually returns to the boat unscathed. — Jen Chaney, Vulture, 27 May 2026 Investigators observed pool toys and pool noodles, but no life preservers in the area. — Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 4 Feb. 2026 Making sure boats have the proper number of life preservers and ship-to-shore radios is also important. — Victor Jacobo, CBS News, 22 May 2026 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

Rhymes for life preserver

See All Rhymes for life preserver

Browse Nearby Words

life plant
life preserver
lifer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Life preserver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life%20preserver. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

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

Nglish: Translation of life preserver for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All