rescue
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rescues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rescued,
past participle, past
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rescuing
present participle
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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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rescues
plural
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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
-
-
the act or an instance of rescuing
-
( 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
-
rescuedsimple
-
had rescuedperfect
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was rescuingprogressive
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were rescuingprogressive
-
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:
She said more than 80 workers were involved in ongoing search and rescue operations which are expected to continue throughout the day.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Another group of rescue volunteers was inserted west of the summit at 11,200 feet of elevation, and a third team was sent to Seibert’s car with a trained search dog to establish a scent trail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
In Talagante, police used helicopters to rescue people and pets living on the banks of the Mapocho who had been surprised by the fast-rising waters overnight.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Founded in Tuscany in 1472, MPS was rescued in 2017 by a 5.4-billion-euro rescue led by the Italian state, which has since gradually reduced its stake.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
No one, aside from Harry Glicken holding out desperate hope for Dave Johnston, thought of those as rescue flights.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Formed in 1935, it currently has more than 80 volunteers who regularly attend mountain and cave rescues, as well as assisting in other public service incidents.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
The United Nations, which has launched a $50 million appeal to help more than 84,000 people, has said that "operations are shifting from search and rescue to relief and recovery, though rescues continue".
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
The rescues have mostly been of swimmers not properly judging the strong currents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The teen’s accident in July was one of three incidents and subsequent rescues over a 15-day period, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The idea was that people seal themselves in the pop- tent, then the rest of the crew drives to wherever they are in the other rover and rescues them.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Founded in Tuscany in 1472, MPS was rescued in 2017 by a 5.4-billion-euro rescue led by the Italian state, which has since gradually reduced its stake.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The 18 crew members on the second vessel were rescued.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The second ship, registered in Palau, was set alight by the drone but its Turkish and Indian crew members have been rescued.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Radev said Bulgarian sailors had rescued the crew members from the second ship - including two who were injured in a fire on board.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
I hadn’t said a word since we were rescued.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
But downsizing means rescuing yourself from being a “prisoner of your possessions,” as Ciji Ware writes in her new book, “Rightsizing Over 70.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
And one commenter, referencing the classic hot firemen calendars used as fundraisers, wrote: “Someone should make a calendar of handsome men rescuing cats and dogs!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
He said rescuers had called into the tunnel: "Don't worry, we are rescuing you."
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
I alerted the organizations involved in rescuing monuments threatened by war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
“Oh dear,” Mrs. Asher said, rescuing the duffel.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
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.
