salvage
Americannoun
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the act of saving a ship or its cargo from perils of the seas.
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the property so saved.
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compensation given to those who voluntarily save a ship or its cargo.
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the act of saving anything from fire, danger, etc.
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the property so saved.
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the value or proceeds upon sale of goods recovered from a shipwreck, fire, etc.
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the act of saving something of use or value from destruction, damage, ruin, loss, or waste.
The salvage of carcass parts for pharmaceutical or research use is permitted if it does not interfere with sanitary operations.
verb (used with object)
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to save or rescue (property) from shipwreck, fire, or other peril.
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to save from destruction, damage, ruin, or loss.
A new achievement was the only way to salvage his reputation.
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to preserve (a useful or valuable part) from something otherwise wasted, discarded, or deemed a failure: I tried to salvage the unburnt part of the cornbread.
We purchase end-of-life vehicles and salvage scrap metal.
I tried to salvage the unburnt part of the cornbread.
The team has a chance to salvage some degree of glory from a dismal season.
noun
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the act, process, or business of rescuing vessels or their cargoes from loss at sea
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the act of saving any goods or property in danger of damage or destruction
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( as modifier )
a salvage operation
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the goods or property so saved
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compensation paid for the salvage of a vessel or its cargo
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the proceeds from the sale of salvaged goods or property
verb
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to save or rescue (goods or property) from fire, shipwreck, etc
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to gain (something beneficial) from a failure
she salvaged little from the broken marriage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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salvagesimple
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salvagessimple
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have salvagedperfect
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has salvagedperfect
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am salvagingprogressive
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are salvagingprogressive
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is salvagingprogressive
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have been salvagingperfect progressive
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has been salvagingperfect progressive
Past
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salvagedsimple
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had salvagedperfect
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was salvagingprogressive
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were salvagingprogressive
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had been salvagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of salvage
First recorded in 1635–45; from Old French; see origin at save 1, -age
Explanation
To salvage something is to save it...before it's too late. You might try to salvage your damaged reputation by defending yourself, or salvage a burnt piece of toast by scraping off the black residue. As a noun salvage is the act of rescuing stuff from a disaster like a shipwreck or fire — or the rescued goods themselves. As a verb, salvage means to collect or rescue that sort of item, or more generally to save something from harm or ruin. If you want to salvage your grade, you need to stop gaming so much and start studying more.
Vocabulary lists containing salvage
Esperanza Rising
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This Week in Words: September 29 - October 5, 2018
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The Cay
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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:
When they were 2-0 up in the last-32 match against Belgium, it looked as though they would salvage something from this World Cup, but tactical errors and poor game management cost them.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Meanwhile, a salvage company offered us $400 for the car.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
As rescue teams wind down efforts to salvage survivors from the rubble, and as residents leave the city -- due to dire economic prospects, trauma or both -- the streets appear more deserted than ever.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
This is the second in a two-part series revealing the contents of deliberations among America’s allies over how they might salvage their alliance—or prepare for its unraveling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The details in the lobby—the old posters and preserved light fixtures that had been the fruits of countless salvage trips and digging through neighboring theater basements—were one thing.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
“Destitute of all comfort and company,” he salvages what he can from the wreckage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
A man salvages his food from trash out of ethical and environmental concerns over waste.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
Baltimore’s Recreation and Parks Department salvages wood from city trees and redirects it to Camp Small, a city-run processing facility, where it’s used in city construction or sold to residents.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2022
Holland eventually chooses to use his power for Good, and not for Evil, and in doing so salvages the sacrosanct purity and moral reputation of Marvel superheroes.
From Salon ● May 5, 2022
He salvages the inferior Soviet equipment, milled from marginal steel, clumsily soldered; it’s all so unsystematic.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Since the late 1960s, Saar has transformed washboards, dolls, clocks, family photographs, racist memorabilia and other salvaged materials into emotionally charged assemblages now held in the permanent collections of more than 60 museums.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Residents had laid out mattresses, washing machines, wooden furniture, and other salvaged household items.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Not that the script could have been salvaged by better acting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Already well out of contention at Oakmont, a final-day 67 salvaged a top-20 finish and only then did McIlroy open up to a trusted group of familiar journalists.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
He’d salvaged boats that crashed in the treacherous Keys, and claimed the cargo—silver, furniture, silk, you name it.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
But testing this theory would involve salvaging the submarine's wreckage, a multimillion-dollar operation, according to plaintiffs.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
Realistically, they need victories in at least four of their final five matches to have any chance of salvaging a place in Friday's last four - and they began that quest well.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Mark Joseph Stern: I think anyone who cares about salvaging American democracy needs to be asking those exact questions.
From Slate ● Dec. 26, 2025
Prada strikes a $1.4 billion deal to acquire Versace from fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings, salvaging a deal that was at risk of collapsing because of the market turmoil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
Mostly it was trash, but sometimes there was something worth salvaging, something he could make useful again or even sell.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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.
