noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈlaɪfˌbəʊt/
General-American:/ˈlaɪfˌboʊt/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:L AY1 F B OW2 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
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).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: nautical, transport
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An emergency vehicle carried aboard a spaceship.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
To rescue; to carry to safety
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a strong sea boat designed to rescue people from a sinking ship
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sea boat
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English life Proto-Indo-European *bheyd- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *bhóydos Proto-Germanic *baitaz Proto-West Germanic *bait Old English bāt Middle English bot English boat English lifeboat From life + boat.
Across languages
Translations
34 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
قَارِب نَجَاةَ
(qārib najāha)
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Bulgarian:
спасителна лодка
(spasitelna lodka)
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Catalan:
bot salvavides
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Chinese Mandarin:
救生船
(jiùshēngchuán)
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Chinese Mandarin:
救生艇
(jiùshēngtǐng)
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Czech:
záchranný člun
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Dutch:
reddingsboot
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Finnish:
pelastusvene
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
French:
radeau de survie
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
German:
Rettungsboot
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Gujarati:
જીવાહોડી
(jīvāhoḍī)
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Hebrew:
סירת הצלה
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Hungarian:
mentőcsónak
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Icelandic:
björgunarbátur
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Indonesian:
sekoci
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Italian:
scialuppa
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Japanese:
救命ボート
(kyūmei bōto)
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Latvian:
glābšanas laivas
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Māori:
poti whakaora
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Māori:
poti kārewa
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Norman:
baté d'sauvetage
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Norwegian Bokmål:
livbåt
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Norwegian Nynorsk:
livbåt
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Polish:
łódź ratunkowa
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Portuguese:
barco salva-vidas
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Russian:
спаса́тельная ло́дка
(spasátelʹnaja lódka)
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Scottish Gaelic:
bàta-teasairginn
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Scottish Gaelic:
bàta-sàbhalaidh
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Serbo-Croatian:
чамац за спасавање
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Serbo-Croatian:
čamac za spasavanje
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Spanish:
bote salvavidas
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Swedish:
livbåt
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Thai:
เรือชูชีพ
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
Vietnamese:
xuồng cứu sinh
— a boat to save shipwrecked people
