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v. saved, sav·ing, saves v.tr. 1. a. To rescue from harm, danger, or loss: The lifeguard saved the struggling swimmer. b. To prevent from dying: The doctors saved the patient. c. To set free from the consequences of sin; redeem: prayed to save his soul. 2. To keep in a safe or healthy condition: God save King Richard! 3. a. To hold back for future use: saved his best song for the encore. b. To avoid spending (money) so as to keep or accumulate it. c. To avoid spending (money or time) in an amount less than what circumstances normally require: saved $25 at the sale; saved 15 minutes by taking a shortcut. d. To prevent the waste or loss of; conserve: bought an efficient device that saves electricity. e. To treat with care by avoiding fatigue, wear, or damage; spare: wore sunglasses to save his eyesight. 4. a. To make unnecessary; obviate: By carrying two bags you can save an extra trip. b. To spare (someone) from having to do something. 5. a. Sports To prevent (a goal) from being scored by blocking a shot. Used of a goalie. b. To prevent an opponent from scoring (a point). c. To preserve a victory in (a game). d. Baseball To preserve (another pitcher's win) by protecting one's team's lead during a stint of relief pitching. 6. Computers To copy (a file) from a computer's main memory to a disk or other storage medium. v.intr. 1. To avoid waste or expense; economize. 2. To accumulate money: saving for a vacation. 3. To preserve a person or thing from harm or loss. n. Idiom: 1. Sports An act that prevents a ball or puck from entering a goal. 2. Baseball A preservation by a relief pitcher of another pitcher's win. save (one's) breath To refrain from a futile appeal or effort: Save your breath; you can't dissuade them. [Middle English saven, from Old French sauver, from Late Latin salvāre, from Latin salvus, safe; see sol- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] sava·ble, savea·ble adj. saver n. Synonyms: save1, rescue, reclaim, redeem, deliver These verbs mean freeing a person or thing from danger, evil, confinement, or servitude. Save is the most general: The smallpox vaccine has saved many lives. A police officer saved the tourist from being cheated. Rescue usually implies saving from immediate harm or danger by direct action: rescue a rare manuscript from a fire. Reclaim can mean to bring a person back, as from error to virtue or to right or proper conduct: "To reclaim me from this course of life was the sole cause of his journey to London" (Henry Fielding). To redeem is to free someone from captivity or the consequences of sin or error; the term can imply the expenditure of money or effort: The amount paid to redeem the captured duke was enormous. Deliver applies to liberating people from something such as captivity, misery, or peril: "consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them" (George Washington). |
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