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sav·ing (sāvĭng)
Share:
n.
1. Rescue from harm, danger, or loss.
2. Avoidance of excess expenditure; economy.
3. A reduction in expenditure or cost.
4. Something saved.
5.
a. savings Money saved: a bank account for savings.
b. savings (used with a sing. verb) Usage Problem An amount of money saved: a rebate that yielded a savings of $50.
6. Law An exception or reservation.
prep.
With the exception of.
conj.
Except; save.

Usage Note: Traditionalists state that one should use the form a saving when referring to an amount of money that is saved. Indeed, that is the form English speakers outside of the United States normally use. In the United States the plural form a savings is widely used with a singular verb (as in A savings of $50 is most welcome). The widespread use of this construction has steadily eroded resistance to it. In our 2005 survey, only 37 percent of the Usage Panel found this sentence unacceptable. This was a considerable decrease from earlier surveys. In 1988, 57 percent rejected a savings, and in 1967, 89 percent rejected it.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.