Etymology : Middle English, from Old French salver, from Late Latin salvare, from Latin salvus safe; more at SAFE
Pronunciation : sAv
Function : verb
Date : 13th century
1. instance of saving; action or instance in which the ball or puck is prevented from entering the goal (Sports). rescue, salvage; safeguard from damage or injury; redeem, deliver from sin; conserve, avoid unnecessary use or expenditure; preserve, keep, maintain. prep. except, besides, but. save\save\ , n. [see:
sage the herb.] the herb sage, or salvia. [obs.]save \save\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. saved ; p. pr. & vb. n. saving.] [oe. saven, sauven, salven, of. salver, sauver, f. sauver, l. salvare, fr. salvus saved, safe. see:
safe, a.].
2. to make safe; to procure the safety of; to preserve from injury, destruction, or evil of any kind; to rescue from impending danger; as, to save a house from the flames. god save all this fair company. he cried, saying, lord, save me. xiv.
3. thou hast quitted all to save a world from utter loss.
4. (theol.) specifically, to deliver from sin and its penalty; to rescue from a state of condemnation and spiritual death, and bring into a state of spiritual life. christ jesus came into the world to save sinners. i.
5. 3. to keep from being spent or lost; to secure from waste or expenditure; to lay up; to reserve. now save a nation, and now save a groat.
6. to rescue from something undesirable or hurtful; to prevent from doing something; to spare. i'll save you that labor, sir. all's now done.
7. to hinder from doing, suffering, or happening; to obviate the necessity of; to prevent; to spare. will you not speak to save a lady's blush?.
8. to hold possession or use of; to escape loss of. just saving the tide, and putting in a stock of merit.
9. The herb sage, or salvia.
10. To make safe; to procure the safety of; to preserve from injury, destruction, or evil of any kind; to rescue from impending danger; as, to save a house from the flames.
11. Specifically, to deliver from sin and its penalty; to rescue from a state of condemnation and spiritual death, and bring into a state of spiritual life.
12. To keep from being spent or lost; to secure from waste or expenditure; to lay up; to reserve.
13. To rescue from something undesirable or hurtful; to prevent from doing something; to spare.
14. To hinder from doing, suffering, or happening; to obviate the necessity of; to prevent; to spare.
15. To hold possession or use of; to escape loss of.
16. To avoid unnecessary expense or expenditure; to prevent waste; to be economical.
17. Except; excepting; not including; leaving out; deducting; reserving; saving.
18. Except; unless. the act of preventing the opposition from scoring; "the goalie made a brilliant save"; "the relief pitcher got credit for a save" make unnecessary an expenditure or effort; "This will save money"; "I'll save you the trouble"; "This will save you a lot of time" to keep up and reserve for personal or special use; "She saved the old family photographs in a drawer" feather one's nest; have a nest egg; "He saves half his salary" spend less; buy at a reduced price spend sparingly, avoid the waste of; "This move will save money"; "The less fortunate will have to economize now" bring into safety; "We pulled through most of the victims of the bomb attack".
19. 1. If you save someone or something, you help them to avoid harm or to escape from a dangerous or unpleasant situation. a final attempt to save 40,000 jobs in Britain's troubled aero industry A new machine no bigger than a 10p piece could help save babies from cot death The national health system saved him from becoming a cripple. + -saving -saving His boxing career was ended after two sight-saving operations.
20. If you save, you gradually collect money by spending less than you get, usually in order to buy something that you want. The majority of people intend to save, but find that by the end of the month there is nothing left Tim and Barbara are now saving for a house in the suburbs They could not find any way to save money. Save up means the same as save. Julie wanted to put some of her money aside for holidays or save up for something special People often put money aside in order to save up enough to make one major expenditure.
21. If you save something such as time or money, you prevent the loss or waste of it. It saves time in the kitchen to have things you use a lot within reach I'll try to save him the expense of a flight from Perth I got the fishmonger to skin the fish which helped save on the preparation time. ¡Ù waste + -saving -saving labor-saving devices.
22. If you save something, you keep it because it will be needed later. Drain the beans thoroughly and save the stock for soup.
23. If someone or something saves you from an unpleasant action or experience, they change the situation so that you do not have to do it or experience it. The scanner will save risk and pain for patients She was hoping that something might save her from having to make a decision He arranges to collect the payment from the customer, thus saving the client the paperwork.
24. If you save data in a computer, you give the computer an instruction to store the data on a tape or disk. Try to get into the habit of saving your work regularly Import your scanned images from the scanner and save as a JPG file.
25. If a goalkeeper saves, or saves a shot, they succeed in preventing the ball from going into the goal. He saved one shot when the ball hit him on the head. Save is also a noun. Spurs could have had several goals but for some brilliant saves from John Hallworth.
26. You can use save to introduce the only things, people, or ideas that your main statement does not apply to. There is almost no water at all in Mochudi save that brought up from bore holes. = apart from Save for means the same as save. The parking lot was virtually empty save for a few cars clustered to one side. = apart from.
27. to save the day: see:
day to save face: see face. an action in which a player in a game such as football prevents the other team from scoring.