A lifeboat is a small, sturdy boat carried on a larger ship, designed to save people if the ship sinks or catches fire. When the Titanic struck an iceberg in 1912, passengers and crew scrambled into lifeboats to escape the sinking vessel. Modern cruise ships and cargo vessels carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard, with supplies like food, water, and emergency beacons.

Lifeboats are built to handle rough seas and stay afloat even in storms. They launch quickly using special davits (mechanical arms) that lower them from the ship's deck to the water. Many modern lifeboats are enclosed with waterproof shells, like protective capsules, and can right themselves even if a wave flips them over.

The word also appears in a common expression: when resources are scarce and tough choices must be made, people sometimes use lifeboat scenarios to discuss difficult ethical questions. Imagine a lifeboat built for ten people but carrying fifteen: who gets a place and who does not? These thought experiments help people think through hard decisions about fairness and survival, though thankfully most of us never face such dramatic choices.