to rescue from danger or possible harm, injury, or loss.
to save someone from drowning.
to keep safe, intact, or unhurt; safeguard; preserve.
God save the king.
to keep from being lost to an opponent.
A goal in the final minute saved the game.
to avoid the spending, consumption, or waste of.
to save fuel.
to keep, as for reuse.
to save leftovers for tomorrow's dinner.
to set aside, reserve, or lay by.
to save money.
to treat carefully in order to reduce wear, fatigue, etc..
to save one's eyes by reading under proper light.
to prevent the occurrence, use, or necessity of; obviate.
to come early in order to save waiting.
Theology. to deliver from the power and consequences of sin.
Computers. to copy (a file or other data) to a storage medium, as from RAM to a disk.
Sports. to stop (a ball or puck) from entering one's goal.
an act or instance of saving, especially in sports.
The goalie guarded the net well and made a crucial save.
Baseball. a statistical credit given a relief pitcher for preserving a team's victory by holding its lead in a game.
Computers.
an act of copying a file or other data to a storage medium.
The server is scheduled to execute a systemwide save at the end of the work day.
one version of a saved file.
We can recover the lost data if we restore it from a previous save.
(tr) to rescue, preserve, or guard (a person or thing) from danger or harm
to avoid the spending, waste, or loss of (money, possessions, etc)
(tr) to deliver from sin; redeem
(often foll by up) to set aside or reserve (money, goods, etc) for future use
(tr) to treat with care so as to avoid or lessen wear or degeneration
use a good light to save your eyes
(tr) to prevent the necessity for; obviate the trouble of
good work now will save future revision
(tr) sport to prevent (a goal) by stopping (a struck ball or puck)
(intr) (of food) to admit of preservation; keep
sport the act of saving a goal
computing an instruction to write information from the memory onto a tape or disk
What is a basic definition of save? Save means to rescue from danger, to lessen the use of something, or to set something aside for later. Save has many other uses, especially as a verb and a noun. If you save someone, you prevent them from being harmed or injured. Nonliving things can also be saved from destruction or damage. A person who saves someone or something else can be called a savior.
See except 1.
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English sa(u)ven, from Old French sauver, salver, from Late Latin salvāre “to save”; see origin at safe
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sauue, sauf, save, variant of safe
To save is to keep safe. So, you might save money for college, save a kitten from drowning, or save a dropped football. You can save a choking person by giving them the Heimlich maneuver, or save a stray puppy from running into the street. There are other ways to save things, too, like when you keep them for later: "You can eat your brownie, but I'll save mine until after dinner." Or when you spend less money: "I'll save by buying this at the used book store." The Latin root is salvus, "safe."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I have to save my life first," he said.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
Doing away with the rule would save the brokerage industry $54.2 million to $77 million annually, largely from reducing compliance costs and being able to disconnect from certain exchanges, the SEC said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Those who are specifically traveling domestically to save money should avoid World Cup cities, where lodging prices have been inflated due to anticipated demand.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
Once you’ve saved a few items, check out your personalized save dashboard at latimes.com/saved/guides.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
“I shall save you from this great black-backed gull, Madame!” he cried as he hopped across three river rocks.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
