rescue
Americanverb (used with object)
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to free or deliver from confinement, danger, or difficulty: She rescued me from an awkward conversation.
The police were able to rescue the hostages in time.
She rescued me from an awkward conversation.
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Law. to liberate or take by forcible or illegal means from lawful custody.
noun
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the act of rescuing.
- Synonyms:
- emancipation, redemption, release, deliverance, liberation
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the act of rescuing animals from danger, abuse, or neglect, as the adoption of stray and abandoned animals from an animal shelter, or the protection of wild animals in an animal sanctuary.
Animal rescue requires cooperation between animal control agencies and shelters.
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a group or organization that participates in such animal welfare activities: breed-specific rescues.
your local rescue;
breed-specific rescues.
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a domestic animal adopted from an animal shelter or other animal welfare group.
Our new puppy is a rescue!
adjective
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of or relating to someone or something trained or equipped to rescue.
The county's three certified rescue dogs and their handlers searched for earthquake survivors in the rubble.
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of or relating to a domestic animal adopted or available for adoption from an animal shelter or other animal welfare group.
rescue puppies and kittens looking for loving families.
verb
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to bring (someone or something) out of danger, attack, harm, etc; deliver or save
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to free (a person) from legal custody by force
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law to seize (goods or property) by force
noun
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the act or an instance of rescuing
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( as modifier )
a rescue party
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the forcible removal of a person from legal custody
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law the forcible seizure of goods or property
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrescuenoun
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rescuernoun
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quasi-rescuedadjective
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rescuableadjective
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rescuelessadjective
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unrescuableadjective
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unrescuedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rescuesimple
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rescuessimple
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have rescuedperfect
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has rescuedperfect
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am rescuingprogressive
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are rescuingprogressive
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is rescuingprogressive
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have been rescuingperfect progressive
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has been rescuingperfect progressive
Past
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rescuedsimple
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had rescuedperfect
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was rescuingprogressive
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were rescuingprogressive
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had been rescuingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rescue
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb rescuen, from Old French rescourre, equivalent to re- + escourre “to shake, drive out, remove,” from Latin excutere ( ex- + -cutere, combining form of quatere “to shake”); see origin at re-, ex- 1
Explanation
When you rescue something, you save it from something bad — you come to the rescue. If Muffin, your kitten, is stuck in a tree, you can get out your ladder and climb up to rescue her. A rescue is a good thing, much appreciated by people (and kittens). If your house is in foreclosure, you'd be very grateful for the uncle who comes to your rescue by paying your mortgage. Whenever there's an earthquake or other disaster, rescue operations are quickly put in place to find survivors. You can use the word more casually, as in describing how you saunter over at a cocktail party and rescue your friend from a conversation with an insufferable bore.
Vocabulary lists containing rescue
Beowulf vocabulary
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"Enabling or Disabling?" and "This I Believe"
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"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned it was "truly a race against time" to rescue those trapped.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
At Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz County, a lifeguard was captured on video dragging a boy out of the water in a harrowing rescue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Almásy shelters Katharine in a cave and goes off to get help, eventually evading arrest and stealing an airplane to rescue her.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Kumamoto prefecture in southern Japan on Tuesday, triggering rescue operations and safety protocols.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The question of whether they ought to rescue Edward Ashton from certain death in a broken balloon might have posed an ethical dilemma, had there been any chance of saving him.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Registered vet technician Maira Vierheller, right, picks up Chewy for an appointment in the clinic at Frosted Faces Foundation in Ramona, a nonprofit that rescues senior dogs, on February 20, 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
On one recent day alone, Newport Beach lifeguards made more than 100 rescues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Heavy rains pounded southwest Texas Wednesday and Thursday with rapid-rising water initiating flash-flood warnings, evacuations and water rescues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
"This frequently leads to poor welfare outcomes, including unsuitable housing, loneliness, mis-sexing, unwanted litters, abandonment and pressure on rescues."
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
"Don't you think rule-followers are the best people to organize against the Nazis? It's not all daring rescues and explosions. It's a lot of tedious paperwork."
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Pair trying to fly drone over wildfire have to be rescued at 'public expense'
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The ship caught fire and seven crew members and a Ukrainian pilot had to be rescued, but two other crew members were missing, he added.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Nearly a week after being rescued near Big Bear Lake, Jackie — half of a celebrity bald eagle couple — remains in critical condition as veterinarians continue to puzzle over the cause of her maladies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Other figures have been rescued by the author from obscurity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“It’s a Story Book. It’s actually pretty rare; there were only four made. My grandfather got this one when he rescued an old woman who used to ride a giant goose.”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
The family of a three-year-old boy who was seriously injured after ending up in a crocodile enclosure have thanked zoo staff for rescuing their child.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
It will then vie to tow Swift into a stable orbit over the course of at least a month, rescuing it from destruction by moving it about 300 kilometers higher.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
In 1983, at the behest of President Ronald Reagan, he chaired the bipartisan commission that was tasked with rescuing Social Security from financial collapse.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
In an unforeseen career turn, Mattingly finds himself serving as the interim manager of the star-studded Philadelphia Phillies, tasked with rescuing a potentially disastrous season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
I was so angry at Dad that I couldn’t bear the idea of him rescuing me.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
