noun

• A lifebuoy with canvas breeches attached which, when suspended from a rope, can be used to hold and transfer a passenger to safety from a ship.

  ‘Three of the crew were taken ashore by breeches buoy but the vessel then slid off the rocks.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The rescuers used breeches buoys and lifeboats to bring the crew and passengers to shore.’
  • ‘A sailor from the sinking ship would climb into the breeches buoy and be pulled to shore.’
  • ‘Lifesavers hauled the breeches buoy back and forth to the wreck until the last person, usually the captain, was safe.’
  • ‘The breeches buoy would be passed hand over hand down a line, shot from a rocket on the shore to reach the ships.’