1.
one's life
A person's life, especially in contexts where life is at stake or has been saved. A literary and formal word used in dramatic or serious situations.
一命を取り留めた。
He barely survived.
医師の迅速な対応で一命を取り留めた。
Thanks to the doctor's swift response, the patient's life was saved.
事故は大きかったが、乗客全員が一命を取り留めたのは奇跡だ。
The accident was severe, but it was a miracle that all passengers survived.
USAGE:
Almost always appears in the fixed phrase 一命を取り留める (to survive, to narrowly escape death). This is the most common and natural collocation. The word carries a literary, dramatic weight and is typical of news reports and formal writing.
Other patterns exist but are less common:
- 一命を賭す: to stake one's life
- 一命を落とす: to lose one's life
- 一命を捧げる: to devote one's life
REGISTER:
Formal and literary. In everyday speech, 命 is the standard word for "life."