lifeline
noun
Simple meaning
Line thrown from a vessel that people can cling to to save themselves from drowning.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lyflynSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlaɪflaɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Line thrown from a vessel that people can cling to in order to save themselves from drowning
A line to which a drowning or falling victim may cling.
by extension
A source of salvation in a crisis.
nautical
On the deck of a boat, a line to which one can attach oneself to stay aboard on rough seas.
A means or route for transporting indispensable supplies.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Line thrown from a vessel that people can cling to in order to save themselves from drowning
Used this way, lifeline is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a nautical use: it is standard at sea and largely unfamiliar ashore.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Sailing/maritime
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use lifeline
- “The airlift provided a lifeline for Berlin.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.