life preserver

noun

1. a buoyant jacket, belt, or other like device for keeping a person afloat.
2. British Slang. a weapon, especially a short stick with a weighted head; blackjack.

life preserver

noun

1. a club or bludgeon, esp one kept for self-defence
2. a life belt or life jacket

Word History and Origins

Origin of life preserver¹

First recorded in 1630–40

Example Sentences

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

Mrs. Cranston, bigger than he, in a gigantic feathered hat, her squirrel-skin cloak, and over that her life preserver, stretched to its limits.

From Literature

With no parachutes, no life preservers, no rafts and no radios, the four planes guided by eight U.S.

From Seattle Times

He threw all the life preservers he could reach to other men, then pulled himself further up the sloping deck, away from the water now angrily smashing its way through windows and doors.

From BBC

The measure “was simply a life preserver that was being thrown or could have been thrown to schools to stem the crisis,” he said.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• life jacket
• life vest