lifesaver
life·saver/ˈlaɪfˌseɪvəɹ/noun
lifesaver is a noun meaning “A lifeguard or other rescuer” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled L-I-F-E-S-A-V-E-R and has 2 syllables (life·saver), and it appears about once in every 1 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of lifesaver is lifesavers.
What does lifesaver mean?
noun
- 1
A lifeguard or other rescuer.
My dad loves his job as a surf lifesaver.
- 2
A life buoy.
They threw him a lifesaver and then hauled him up onto the boat.
- 3
Any lifesaving tool or item of supplies.
When I got lost in the woods, my Swiss Army knife was a lifesaver.
- 4
Someone or something that is very useful or helpful.
Thank you so much for fixing my car; you're a real lifesaver!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce lifesaver?
- UK /ˈlaɪfˌseɪvə/
- US /ˈlaɪfˌseɪvəɹ/
Lifesaver has 2 syllables, split life·saver in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lifesaver.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lifesaver
- lifesavers plural
- life-saver
- life saver
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is lifesaver?
Lifesaver appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Words people confuse with lifesaver
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: life-saver (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Lifesaver in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | secouriste, sauveteur |
| German | Lebensretter , Segen, Rettungsanker, rettender Anker |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lifesaver come from?
From life + saver.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).