save

¹

[ seyv ]

verb (used with object)

, saved, sav·ing.

1. to rescue from danger or possible harm, injury, or loss:

   to save someone from drowning.

   Synonyms: salvage

2. to keep safe, intact, or unhurt; safeguard; preserve:

   God save the king.

3. to keep from being lost to an opponent:

   A goal in the final minute saved the game.

4. to avoid the spending, consumption, or waste of:

   to save fuel.

5. to keep, as for reuse:

   to save leftovers for tomorrow's dinner.

6. to set aside, reserve, or lay by:

   to save money.

   Synonyms: husband, store up

7. to treat carefully in order to reduce wear, fatigue, etc.:

   to save one's eyes by reading under proper light.

8. to prevent the occurrence, use, or necessity of; obviate:

   to come early in order to save waiting.

9. Theology. to deliver from the power and consequences of sin.
10. Computers. to copy (a file or other data) to a storage medium, as from RAM to a disk.
11. Sports. to stop (a ball or puck) from entering one's goal.

verb (used without object)

, saved, sav·ing.

1. to lay up money as the result of economy or thrift.

   Synonyms: hoard, economize

2. to be economical in expenditure.
3. to preserve something from harm, injury, loss, etc.
4. to keep or last without spoiling, as food.

noun

1. an act or instance of saving, especially in sports:

   The goalie guarded the net well and made a crucial save.

2. Baseball. a statistical credit given a relief pitcher for preserving a team's victory by holding its lead in a game.
3. Computers.
   1. an act of copying a file or other data to a storage medium:

      The server is scheduled to execute a systemwide save at the end of the work day.

   2. one version of a saved file:

      We can recover the lost data if we restore it from a previous save.

save

²

[ seyv ]

preposition

1. except; but:

   All the guests had left save one.

conjunction

1. except; but (usually followed by that ):

   He would have gone, save that he had no means.

Save

³

[ sah-vuh ]

noun

1. Sava.

save

¹

/ seɪv /

preposition

1. Alsosaving often foll by for with the exception of

conjunction

1. but; except

save

²

/ seɪv /

verb

1. tr to rescue, preserve, or guard (a person or thing) from danger or harm
2. to avoid the spending, waste, or loss of (money, possessions, etc)
3. tr to deliver from sin; redeem
4. often foll by up to set aside or reserve (money, goods, etc) for future use
5. tr to treat with care so as to avoid or lessen wear or degeneration

   use a good light to save your eyes

6. tr to prevent the necessity for; obviate the trouble of

   good work now will save future revision

7. tr sport to prevent (a goal) by stopping (a struck ball or puck)
8. intr (of food) to admit of preservation; keep

noun

1. sport the act of saving a goal
2. computing an instruction to write information from the memory onto a tape or disk

Derived Forms

• ˈsavable, adjective
• ˈsavableness, noun
• ˈsaver, noun

Other Words From

• sava·ble savea·ble adjective
• sava·ble·ness savea·ble·ness noun
• saver noun
• un·sava·ble adjective
• un·savea·ble adjective
• un·saved adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of save¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English sa(u)ven, from Old French sauver, salver, from Late Latin salvāre “to save”; safe

Origin of save²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sauue, sauf, save, variant of safe

Word History and Origins

Origin of save¹

C13 sauf, from Old French, from Latin salvō, from salvus safe

Origin of save²

C13: from Old French salver, via Late Latin from Latin salvus safe

Idioms and Phrases

• penny saved is a penny earned
• rainy day, save for a
• scrimp and save
• to save one's life

Synonym Study

See except ¹.

Example Sentences

They went on to save millions of lives.

From Slate

The court heard paramedics who arrived on the scene told Mrs MacKinnon nothing could be done to save her husband.

From BBC

Tanton began working with the group Zero Population Growth, which posited that stabilizing the number of people on the planet was the best way to save the environment, and became its national president.

From Salon

Just weeks later — despite a new board policy forbidding him from advocating on immigration issues — Zuckerman railed against the club’s co-directors in an interview with the Los Angeles Times Magazine, saying they can’t “save species and wetlands and so on when there are a billion Americans.”

From Salon

Ann Coulter, lamenting the Sierra Club’s rejection of immigration issues, wrote an article headlined “Your Choice — A Green America Or A Brown America” for VDare in advance of Earth Day in 2017 and then tweeted that “I’m fine with pretending to believe in global warming if we can save our language, culture & borders.”

From Salon

Related Words

• collect
• conserve
• keep
• maintain
• manage
• spare
• store