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rescue - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from Latin prefix re- (re-) + excutere (to shake or drive out), from ex (out) + quatiō (I shake).

  • IPA(key): /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/
  • Hyphenation: res‧cue

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.
    Synonyms: free, deliver (from), pull out of the fire
    Antonyms: endanger, imperil

    The well-trained team rescued everyone after the avalanche.

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

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

    • 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.
    Synonyms: liberate, release
    Antonyms: arrest, capture, kidnap
    Hyponyms: unshackle, untie

    to rescue a prisoner from the enemy

  3. To recover forcibly, especially from a siege.
    Synonyms: liberate, recapture, retake
    Antonyms: besiege, capture
  4. (figuratively) To remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil and sin.
    Synonyms: redeem, save
    Antonyms: corrupt, deprave

    Traditionally missionaries aim to rescue many ignorant heathen souls.

  5. (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.

  6. (biology, genetics) To restore a particular trait in an organism that was lost or altered, especially where this loss was as the consequence of some experimental manipulation.
    • 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:

      Mecp2R255X/+ [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 Mecp2R255X/+ was rescued by MECP2Tg1 allele.

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

    I rescued a set of antique dining chairs.

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

      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.

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

    The cook rescued the sauce after it began to curdle.

    • 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:

      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.

  9. To adopt (an animal).
    • 2018 July 31, Olivia Hussey, The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life after Romeo and Juliet, Kensington Books, →ISBN:

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

to save from any danger or violence

to deliver by arms, notably from a siege

Translations to be checked

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. (law, largely obsolete) The act of unlawfully freeing a person, or confiscated goods, from custody.
  4. The forcible ending of a siege; liberation from similar military peril.

    The rescue of Jerusalem was the original motive of the Crusaders

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

    The dog was a rescue with some behavior issues.

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

act of rescuing, saving

forcible ending of a siege

Translations to be checked

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