life raft en · NOUN
Etymology
From life + raft.
Meanings
- A usually inflatable raft carried aboard a ship or airplane, used to save lives in case the vessel has to be abandoned in an emergency on the sea.
-
(figuratively) Something that provides help in a state of difficulty or despair.
For Mr. Kim, a mediocre middle school student who was often in trouble, Stuyvesant, from which he graduated in 1993, was a life raft. Now, as the president of Stuyvesant’s alumni organization, an advocacy group with deep ties to politicians, he has one of the most powerful voices in the debate about specialized school admissions.
2019 February 6, Eliza Shapiro, “Racist? Fair? Biased? Asian-American Alumni Debate Elite High School Admissions”, in The New York Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| life rafts | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| liferaft | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (12)
fr canot de sauvetage (inflatable raft) · de Rettungsfloß (inflatable raft) · tr filika (inflatable raft) · nn redningsflåte (inflatable raft) · de Rettungsinsel (inflatable raft) · fi pelastuslautta (inflatable raft) · ja 救命いかだ (inflatable raft) · sv livbåt (inflatable raft) · cmn 救生筏 (inflatable raft) · ru спаса́тельный плот (inflatable raft) · nb redningsflåte (inflatable raft) · da redningsflåde (inflatable raft)