Other forms: lifebuoys
A lifebuoy is the ring thrown to somebody in the water. Throw the lifebuoy, a lifebuoy on the wall, reach the lifebuoy.
Throwing one is far safer than swimming out, because a drowning person will climb whoever reaches them. The rope matters as much as the ring. Stealing or damaging one is treated seriously, since an empty stand costs lives.
1nounlifebuoyA ring thrown to somebody in the water.
“Someone threw a lifebuoy to the boy struggling in the harbour.”
lifebuoy is a safety device.
life buoy comes from life + buoy.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA