lifeboat
lifeboat — noun
- lifeboatsingular
- lifeboatsplural
1. a strong boat that waits near the coast and is launched at short notice to bring
a strong boat that waits near the coast and is launched at short notice to bring back swimmers, sailors, or anyone struggling in rough water.
The Cornish lifeboat raced into the storm to reach two fishermen on an overturned trawler.
subject + verb of motion (raced out) for rescue scenarios
Volunteers run the village lifeboat and train every Saturday on the beach.
collocation: run / crew / launch the lifeboat
Tariq watched the orange lifeboat bounce across the waves toward a stranded yacht.
After the surfer disappeared, the coastguard called out the lifeboat from the harbour.
Donations from the seaside town pay for new engines and warm jackets for the lifeboat crew.
- rescue boat
broader; any boat used for rescue, not always coast-based
- RNLI boat
British, specific to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
用法筆記
Subject is usually a coastal rescue service or volunteer crew. Often paired with verbs of motion (launch, call out, race out). Distinguish from sense 2: this boat is stationed on shore, not on board a ship.
常見錯誤
2. a smaller boat fixed to the side of a larger ship so passengers and crew can cli
a smaller boat fixed to the side of a larger ship so passengers and crew can climb in and escape if the ship begins to sink.
Passengers practised climbing into the lifeboat on the first morning of the cruise to Alaska.
collocation: climb into / get into a lifeboat
When the ferry began to tilt, Yumi grabbed her son and ran toward the nearest lifeboat.
named subject + emergency scene
The Titanic carried far fewer lifeboats than people on board, and many drowned.
Each lifeboat on the freighter holds twenty people and has food and blankets inside.
Piotr unhooked the ropes on the lifeboat while the captain shouted instructions through the wind.
- escape boat
descriptive; emphasises leaving a sinking vessel
- survival craft
formal / nautical; broader category including inflatable rafts
用法筆記
Always carried on board a larger ship. Frequently paired with 'climb into', 'lower', 'launch from the deck'. Distinguish from sense 1: this is the small onboard escape boat, not the shore-based rescue craft.