A life belt is a floating ring designed to keep someone afloat in water. Picture a large, inflatable or foam-filled donut, usually bright orange or red, that you can throw to someone struggling in a pool, lake, or ocean. The person grabs onto it and holds on while being pulled to safety.

Life belts hang on the walls of swimming pools and on the decks of boats and ships. In an emergency, someone on shore or on deck grabs the life belt and tosses it to the person in trouble. Because the belt floats so well, even someone who's tired or panicked can hold onto it and stay above water until help arrives.

The term can also describe a life preserver worn around the waist, though people more commonly call those life jackets or life vests today. Sometimes people use “life belt” as a metaphor for anything that saves you from a difficult situation, like when a friend's good advice serves as a life belt during a tough time at school.