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:
Bystanders - including Craig Lowe, who made three rescue attempts - sprung into action as the tragedy unfolded, administering CPR to the Rahmans.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
"The whereabouts of eight people is unknown and rescue operations are ongoing," said Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed head of the Russian-occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Josh is a lecturer at the Allbritton Journalism Institute and the enthusiastic owner of a rambunctious rescue dog named Pepper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
He then dashed back out to sea to rescue her daughter.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
When the second helicopter arrived, it managed to perch shakily on a one-lane bridge while a rescue crew jumped to the ground.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
In Homer’s poem, the goddess Calypso rescues Odysseus from a shipwreck and keeps him on her island for seven years, even as he longs for Penelope and Ithaca.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
On one recent day alone, Newport Beach lifeguards made more than 100 rescues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The storm’s one recorded fatality died overnight, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday, adding that about 80 rescues have been made.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
The critical window for rescues in these disasters usually closes after 72 hours, though a few people have miraculously been found alive this week.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
There were no daring helicopter rescues, no tunnels, no ingenious plans to dress up as a guard and stroll out through the front door.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
Pair trying to fly drone over wildfire have to be rescued at 'public expense'
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The students were rescued by the army hours after they were taken and generally, the authorities appear to have made recent inroads in their fight against armed gangs.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
"We're on maximum alert. We're doing everything we can to get the situation under control," Rahman said, adding that the coast guard had rescued "618 trafficking victims" this year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Other figures have been rescued by the author from obscurity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
At Troy he rescued a maiden who was in the same plight as Andromeda, waiting on the shore to be devoured by a sea monster which could be appeased in no other way.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Saar traces her habit of rescuing discarded materials to her childhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
But chances of finding anyone alive beneath deep rubble dwindles rapidly after a critical 72-hour window for rescuing trapped people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
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
This time around, Enola’s impending wedding is interrupted when she learns Sherlock’s been kidnapped and needs rescuing.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The presumption in those practice sessions was that he'd be rescuing a crewmate whose tether had broken, but the principle was the same.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
