salvageable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of salvageable
Explanation
Something that's salvageable can be saved or fixed. You'll be dismayed if you drop your cell phone and the screen cracks, but you'll feel better when you realize it's salvageable. To salvage something is to save, preserve, or rescue it, and if you can successfully do this, you can say it's salvageable. A terrible accident might total your car, making it impossible to fix, but after a small fender bender your car will probably be salvageable. If you gossip about your best friend and he hears about it, you'll hope your friendship is salvageable. The root of salvageable is the Old French salver, "to save."
Vocabulary lists containing salvageable
Power Suffix: -able
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The Maze Runner
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Red Kayak
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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.
But the return has revealed the storm’s full impact: homes pushed off foundations, streets still partially submerged, and families sifting through mud-soaked belongings in search of anything salvageable.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026
They loaded salvageable sofas and home appliances onto decrepit blue pickup trucks in the unmistakable 1960s design of local brand Zamyad.
From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026
Some of the rose buds had also started to rot, but she's dried them out and made a resin artwork scattered with the salvageable petals.
From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026
Some of those figures, such as information on job creation and on wholesale prices, could be salvageable because companies provide a portion of it directly to the BLS.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
“Pull everything out, sort it. If there’s anything salvageable, put it aside. Make a pile for the dump. Then just rake up around there. It’s such a mess.”
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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.
