: 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
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The Princess of Wales has had plenty of practice with this in the past, as her first official engagement with Prince William in February 2011 was pouring champagne on a lifeboat in Wales a few months before their royal wedding, marking her first duty in a working royal role.
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Janine Henni, People.com, 22 May 2025
Everything from lifeboat drills to hull design can trace its roots back to the hard lessons learned from Titanic’s fate.
—David Nikel, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
According to Gracie, around half the men who reached the lifeboat died from exhaustion or extreme cold.
—Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 27 Apr. 2025
The last time anyone saw the Franklin expedition was when Inuit hunters encountered starving sailors dragging a lifeboat across the ice in Washington Bay, clad in wool rather than furs.
—Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 May 2025
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Janine Henni, People.com, 22 May 2025
Everything from lifeboat drills to hull design can trace its roots back to the hard lessons learned from Titanic’s fate.
—David Nikel, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
According to Gracie, around half the men who reached the lifeboat died from exhaustion or extreme cold.
—Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 27 Apr. 2025
The last time anyone saw the Franklin expedition was when Inuit hunters encountered starving sailors dragging a lifeboat across the ice in Washington Bay, clad in wool rather than furs.
—Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lifeboat
Cite this Entry
“Lifeboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lifeboat. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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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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