save

Formssaves, saving, saved

Pluralsaves

1. 1
   rescueverbtransitive

   To rescue someone or something from harm or danger, or to keep them safe from it.

   Dozens of homes were saved when the wind shifted away from the town.

   Firefighters worked through the night to save the old church from the flames.

   UsageUse from for the danger: saved from drowning, save a church from the flames. Also save lives.

   Similarrescue, protect, preserve, salvage, safeguard

2. 2
   cut costsverbintransitive

   To use less of something, such as money, time or energy, so that it is not wasted; to economize.

   Households were urged to save wherever they could that winter.

   The factory saves by running its furnaces at night when power is cheap.

   UsageOften save on + noun: save on heating. With an object: save money, save time.

   Similareconomize, scrimp, conserve

   Oppositespend, waste, squander, splurge

3. 3
   put money asideverbtransitive or intransitive

   To accumulate money or valuables, by setting them aside rather than spending.

   The couple saved for ten years before they could buy a house.

   Many families save a fixed share of each paycheck and never touch it.

   UsageOften save for or save up for something: saving up for a house.

   Similarbank, accumulate, reserve, hoard

   Oppositespend, squander, splurge

4. 4
   store a fileverbtransitive or intransitive

   In computing and video games, to write a file or game state to disk or another storage medium.

   Where did I save that document? It isn't on the desktop.

   The game saves automatically at every checkpoint.

   UsageSave a file to a drive or on the desktop. Save as lets you choose a different name, location or format.

   Similarstore, write, record

   Oppositedelete

   Note

   Computing uses the verb with or without an object. In video games, what gets written is the player's progress. The stored copy has its own name in the computing noun. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Saving a video game stores information about the player's progress. en.wikipedia.org
5. 5
   spare troubleverbtransitive

   To spare someone something unpleasant or unnecessary, such as effort, trouble or a task, or to make it unnecessary.

   Booking your tickets online will save you a long wait at the station.

   A quick phone call saved her a wasted journey.

   UsageOften takes two objects, person first: save you the trouble, saved her a wasted trip.

   Similarspare

   Note

   Two objects often sit after the verb here: first the person spared, then the burden they escape, as in save you that labor or saved her a wasted journey. Shakespeare and Fletcher's Henry VIII, first printed in 1623, already builds it this way. That double-object pattern is the quickest way to tell it from the rescuing sense, where the single object is whoever is pulled out of harm and the danger comes after from. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Henry VIII is a collaboration between William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. folgerpedia.folger.edu
   • Henry VIII was first printed in 1623. folger.edu
   • Henry VIII contains the double-object construction, with the person followed by the burden spared; the First Gentleman says it in Act 2, scene 1. folger.edu
6. 6
   hold ontoverbtransitive

   To store or set aside for future use.

   I always save the leftover rice to make fried rice the next day.

   He saved every letter she had ever written him.

   UsageOften save something for later, or save someone a seat.

   Similarkeep, store, retain, reserve, hoard

   Oppositediscard, dump

7. 7
   from sinverbtransitive

   In Christianity, to redeem or protect someone from eternal damnation.

   The preacher told the crowd that faith alone could save them.

   Revivalists asked the crowd whether they had been saved.

   Similarredeem, deliver

   Oppositedamn, condemn

   Note

   Christian theology gives the verb its largest stakes. The harm escaped is eternal damnation, and the one who saves is Christ, as in Jesus Christ came to save sinners. The passive carries a personal meaning of its own: asking whether someone has been saved is asking about their conversion, not about any danger they survived, so the question is best read in its religious frame. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • The Christian religious sense concerns deliverance from eternal damnation. en.wiktionary.org
   • Christian scripture presents Christ as coming to save sinners; the item's example paraphrases this teaching. en.wikisource.org
8. 8
   stop a shotnouncountable

   In a number of sports, a play that stops an opponent's attempt to score.

   Her diving save in the final minute kept the score level.

   The goaltender made a great save with his glove.

   UsageThe usual verb is make: the keeper made a great save. A shooter can force a save.

   Similarstop, block, parry

9. 9
   except forpreposition

   Except; with the exception of.

   Every seat in the theater was taken save a few in the back row.

   All the windows save one had been boarded up.

   Similarexcept, but, barring, bar, excepting

   Oppositeincluding

   Note

   David Carpenter's The Struggle for Mastery uses it of the Interdict, listing what was still permitted, and that formal, slightly bookish register is where it belongs. It shares its Latin origin with the rescuing verb but none of its sense of rescue or keeping; it stands exactly where except would. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • David Carpenter wrote The Struggle for Mastery. kclpure.kcl.ac.uk
   • Carpenter uses save when describing the services permitted during the Interdict. en.wiktionary.org
   • The preposition ultimately derives from Latin salvus. en.wiktionary.org
   • The rescuing verb also ultimately derives from Latin salvus, through salvāre and Old French sauver. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    nouncountable

    In computing, the act or result of saving data to a storage medium.

    The game only lets you make a save at certain checkpoints.

    I deleted my old saves to free up space on the memory card.

    UsageAs an act: changes since your last save. As a file: delete old saves.

    Note

    Two readings share the computing noun, and the sentence decides between them. As an act, it marks a point in time: you lose every change since your last save. As a result, saves are things that can be counted and kept, so a console can hold eight saves on a single cartridge. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • A console can store eight saves on one cartridge; this is possible with suitable cartridge software. github.com
11. 11
    closer's creditnouncountable

    In baseball, a successful effort by a relief pitcher to preserve another pitcher's win.

    The closer struck out the last batter to pick up his thirtieth save.

    After striking out the side in the ninth, he was credited with his thirtieth save of the season.

    UsageThe usual verbs are earn, get or pick up: earn the save.

    Note

    Scorekeeping turns the noun into a credit, and a pitcher earns it: Jones retired seven to earn the save. It belongs to the reliever, while the win belongs to an earlier pitcher on his team, and the two are tied together: a save exists only where there is another pitcher's win to protect. The act of protecting it is the baseball verb. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A save is a statistical credit awarded to a relief pitcher. mktg.mlbstatic.com
    • The win belongs to another pitcher on the same team, who need not be the pitcher immediately replaced. Rule 9.17 determines the winning pitcher. mktg.mlbstatic.com
    • A save requires a team victory and cannot be credited to the winning pitcher. mktg.mlbstatic.com
12. 12
    stop a shotverbtransitive

    In sports, to catch or deflect a shot at goal.

    Her low shot was saved by the keeper, but the striker scored from the rebound.

    Keepers who save with their feet are prized in the modern game.

    UsageThe object is the shot: the keeper saved the penalty; in the passive, saved by the keeper.

    Similarstop, block, deflect, parry, catch

    Note

    A saved shot need not end the danger, since the ball can stay alive for a rebound, as it did for Chelsea in 2012. The act itself has its own name in the sporting noun. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • In Chelsea's 2012 match against Wolves, play continued after the save and led to a goal. skysports.com

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