Wiktionary

rescue

See also: Rescue

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from Latin prefix re- (“re-”) + excutere, present active infinitive of excutiō (“I shake or drive out”), from ex (“out”) + quatiō (“I shake”).

 
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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

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rescue (third-person singular simple present rescues, present participle rescuing, simple past and past participle rescued) (transitive)

  1. To save from any violence, danger or evil.
    The well-trained team rescued everyone after the avalanche.
    • 2023 May 5, Declan Walsh, “‘Only Word for Them Is Heroes’: How 2 Students Rescued Dozens in Sudan”, in The New York Times‎[1]:
      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.
  2. To free or liberate from confinement or other physical restraint.
    to rescue a prisoner from the enemy.
  3. To recover forcibly.
  4. To deliver by arms, notably from a siege.
  5. (figuratively) To remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil and sin.
    Traditionally missionaries aim to rescue many ignorant heathen souls.
  6. (figuratively) To achieve something positive under difficult conditions.
    • 1999, Marion A. Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:
      Jews rescued some normalcy from increasingly difficult times by assuaging their constant Angst in the family and community and making do with less.
    • 2011 September 13, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC‎[2]:
      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.
    • 2013, Daniel Harris, The Promised Land: Manchester United's Historic Treble, Birlinn, →ISBN:
      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.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Noun

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rescue (countable and uncountable, plural rescues)

  1. An act or episode of rescuing, saving.
    • 2023 May 5, Declan Walsh, “‘Only Word for Them Is Heroes’: How 2 Students Rescued Dozens in Sudan”, in The New York Times‎[3]:
      Guests marveled that they kept making more rescues.
  2. A liberation, freeing.
  3. The forcible ending of a siege; liberation from similar military peril.
    The rescue of Jerusalem was the original motive of the Crusaders
  4. A special airliner flight to bring home passengers who are stranded.
  5. A rescuee.
    The dog was a rescue with some behavior issues.

Usage notes

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  • Often used attributively as an adjective, e.g. "rescue equipment".

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

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“rescue”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

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