Definition of "lifeboat" []

• A boat carried on a ship for use if the ship has to be abandoned. (noun)
• A boat used for rescue service. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The one person who you must NOT toss out of the overcrowded lifeboat is the navigator, the fellow who knows where the boat is relative to the nearest seaports and shipping lanes."
• "Like Ronald Reagan, their lifeboat is finding some plutocrat who will give them crumbs in exchange for endless diatribes re how the rich DESERVE to be rich."
• "The idea behind Amphibian Ark was for an international effort to breed species under threat, providing a "long-term lifeboat" to ensure their survival."