Wiktionary

lifeline

See also: life-line and life line

English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From life +‎ line.

Pronunciation edit

  • enPR: līfʹlīn' IPA(key): /ˈlaɪfˌlaɪn/
  • Audio (UK)(file)

Noun edit

lifeline (plural lifelines)

  1. A line to which a drowning or falling victim may cling.
  2. (by extension) A source of salvation in a crisis.
    • 2012, Melissa Rycroft, My Reality, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      The girls, of course, were my lifeline during this time.
    • 2012, Aaron Dixon, My People Are Rising, Haymarket Books, →ISBN, page 64:
      Slowly I began to fill up some of the emptiness inside—writing had become my lifeline.
  3. A means or route for transporting indispensable supplies.
    • 2012, Daniel F. Harrington, Berlin on the Brink, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 9:
      Planners did not see the access routes as west Berlin's sole lifeline, which now seems instinctive to us.
    • 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 50:
      It is no real surprise that half the UK's stations and 5,000 miles of route were recommended to close. Nevertheless, some great mistakes were made in Marples' devil-may-care purge that left commuters stranded and seaside resorts without a lifeline.
  4. (engineering) A system or structure of vital importance to a community.
  5. (nautical) On the deck of a boat, a line to which one can attach oneself to stay aboard on rough seas.
    Synonym: jackstay
  6. (underwater diving) A line from the diver to a tender at the surface control point.
    Synonym: tether
  7. (palmistry) A particular crease in the palm.
    Synonym: line of life

Descendants edit

  • → Japanese: ライフライン (raifurain)

Translations edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further reading edit

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