LIFELINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lifeline mean? 

• LIFELINE (noun)
  The noun LIFELINE has 4 senses:

1. a crease on the palm; its length is said by palmists to indicate how long you will live

2. support that enables people to survive or to continue doing something (often by providing an essential connection)

3. line that raises or lowers a deep-sea diver

4. line thrown from a vessel that people can cling to in order to save themselves from drowning

  Familiarity information: LIFELINE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LIFELINE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A crease on the palm; its length is said by palmists to indicate how long you will live

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

life line; lifeline; line of life

Hypernyms ("lifeline" is a kind of...):

crease; crinkle; furrow; line; seam; wrinkle (a slight depression or fold in the smoothness of a surface)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Support that enables people to survive or to continue doing something (often by providing an essential connection)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

she offered me a lifeline in my time of grief

Hypernyms ("lifeline" is a kind of...):

support (something providing immaterial assistance to a person or cause or interest)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Line that raises or lowers a deep-sea diver

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("lifeline" is a kind of...):

line (something (as a cord or rope) that is long and thin and flexible)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Line thrown from a vessel that people can cling to in order to save themselves from drowning

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("lifeline" is a kind of...):

line (something (as a cord or rope) that is long and thin and flexible)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lifeline"):

ridge rope (either of a pair of lifelines running alongside the bowsprit of a ship)