lifeboat

From life +‎ boat.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪfˌbəʊt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪfˌboʊt/

• Audio (US)

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lifeboat (plural lifeboats)

1. (nautical) A boat especially designed for saving the lives of shipwrecked people or people in distress at sea (either launched from the shore with a crew, or else carried on board a larger ship).
   • 1971, Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith (lyrics and music), “Halo of Flies”, in Killer, performed by Alice Cooper:

     I've got a watch that turns into a lifeboat

2. (science fiction) An emergency vehicle carried aboard a spaceship.

• quarter boat, rowboat, raft

lifeboat (third-person singular simple present lifeboats, present participle lifeboating, simple past and past participle lifeboated)

1. To rescue; to carry to safety