rescue

present singular third person rescues · participle present rescuing · participle past rescued · past rescued

1. transitiveTo save from any violence, danger or evil.

   The well-trained team rescued everyone after the avalanche.

   3 more examples

   Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition was lost with two ships and 129 men, inspiring dozens of subsequent expeditions to find and rescue him, none of them successful.

   1989 May, Jeff MacInnis, “Braving the Northwest Passage”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 586

   Soon after rescuing some silly children from the local caves, the alien prangs his vessel and dies.

   2004, John Pym, editor, Time Out Film Guide, page 70

   The students’ final mission was their longest: a trip across the Nile to the city of Omdurman, at the request of Rwandan diplomats, to rescue a woman who, unlike the first they rescued, really was pregnant.

   2023 May 5, Declan Walsh, “‘Only Word for Them Is Heroes’: How 2 Students Rescued Dozens in Sudan”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms: free, deliver, pull out of the fire · Antonyms: endanger, imperil

2. transitiveTo free or liberate from confinement or other physical restraint.

   to rescue a prisoner from the enemy

   Synonyms: liberate, release · Antonyms: arrest, capture, kidnap

3. transitiveTo recover forcibly, especially from a siege.

   Synonyms: liberate, recapture, retake · Antonyms: besiege, capture

4. figurativelytransitiveTo remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil and sin.

   Traditionally missionaries aim to rescue many ignorant heathen souls.

   Synonyms: redeem, save · Antonyms: corrupt, deprave

5. figurativelytransitiveTo achieve something positive under difficult conditions.

   Jews rescued some normalcy from increasingly difficult times by assuaging their constant Angst in the family and community and making do with less.

   1999, Marion A. Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair, Oxford University Press, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   Arsenal's hopes of starting their Champions League campaign with an away win were dashed when substitute Ivan Perisic's superb late volley rescued a point for Borussia Dortmund.

   2011 September 13, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC

   Over the course of the season, on 15 occasions the team had rescued a draw or better after falling behind, such that even against Juventus, there was an air of inevitability about the comeback.

   2013, Daniel Harris, The Promised Land: Manchester United's Historic Treble, Birlinn, →ISBN

6. transitivebiologyTo restore a particular trait in an organism that was lost or altered, especially where this loss was as the consequence of some experimental manipulation.

   Mecp2^(R255X/+) [mice] developed an overweight body weight phenotype by 10 weeks age and increased liver and heart weight by 8 months age. Abnormal body, liver and heart weight in Mecp2^(R255X/+) was rescued by MECP2ᵀᵍ¹ allele.

   2015, Meagan R. Pitcher et al., “Rett syndrome like phenotypes in the R255X Mecp2 mutant mouse are rescued by MECP2 transgene”, in Human Molecular Genetics, volume 24, number 9, →DOI, page 2664

7. transitiveTo salvage and restore something that has been discarded.

   I rescued a set of antique dining chairs.

   1 more example

   She had rescued a sofa once, had managed to locate the dealer who had bought it from under her nose while she perused a junk shop, and offered to buy it from him.

   2016 May 26, Jojo Moyes, Foreign Fruit: 'Blissful, romantic reading' - Company, Hachette UK, →ISBN

8. transitiveTo fix a mistake made while preparing something, especially in cooking.

   The cook rescued the sauce after it began to curdle.

   1 more example

   To rescue whipped cream that has been overwhipped and appears grainy, add a little more liquid cream and whip it briefly or until very smooth and soft.

   2019 November 12, Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, John Becker, Megan Scott, Joy of Cooking: Fully Revised and Updated, Scribner, →ISBN, page 791

9. transitiveTo adopt (an animal).

   We rescued a dog, Dylan, which would begin my lifelong love of animals, especially dogs.

   2018 July 31, Olivia Hussey, The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life after Romeo and Juliet, Kensington Books, →ISBN

plural rescues

1. countableuncountableAn act or episode of rescuing, saving.

   Guests marveled that they kept making more rescues.

   2023 May 5, Declan Walsh, “‘Only Word for Them Is Heroes’: How 2 Students Rescued Dozens in Sudan”, in The New York Times

2. countableuncountableA liberation, freeing.
3. countableuncountablelargely obsoletelawThe act of unlawfully freeing a person, or confiscated goods, from custody.
4. countableuncountableThe forcible ending of a siege; liberation from similar military peril.

   The rescue of Jerusalem was the original motive of the Crusaders

5. countableuncountableA special airliner flight to bring home passengers who are stranded.
6. countableuncountableA rescuee.

   The dog was a rescue with some behavior issues.

1. A city in California.