Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Rescue
Res′cue
(rĕs′kū̍)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Rescued
(-k?d)
;p. pr. & vb. n.
Rescuing
.] [OE.
rescopuen
, OF. rescourre
, rescurre
, rescorre
; L. pref. re-
re- + excutere
to shake or drive out; ex
out + quatere
to shake. See Qtash
to crush, Rercussion
.] To free or deliver from any confinement, violence, danger, or evil; to liberate from actual restraint; to remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil;
as, to
rescue
a prisoner from the enemy; to rescue
seamen from destruction.Had I been seized by a hungry lion,
I would have been a breakfast to the best,
Rather than have false Proteus
I would have been a breakfast to the best,
Rather than have false Proteus
rescue
me. Shakespeare
Syn. – To retake; recapture; free; deliver; liberate; release; save.
1.
The act of rescuing; deliverance from restraint, violence, or danger; liberation.
Spur to the
rescue
of the noble Talbot. Shakespeare
2.
(Law)
(a)
The forcible retaking, or taking away, against law, of things lawfully distrained.
(b)
The forcible liberation of a person from an arrest or imprisonment.
(c)
The retaking by a party captured of a prize made by the enemy.
Bouvier.
The
rescue
of a prisoner from the court is punished with perpetual imprisonment and forfeiture of goods. Blackstone.
Rescue grass
. [Etymol. uncertain.]
(Bot.)
A tall grass (
Ceratochloa unioloides
) somewhat resembling chess, cultivated for hay and forage in the Southern States.Webster 1828 Edition
Rescue
RESCUE
,Verb.
T.
To free or deliver from any confinement, violence, danger or evil; to liberate from actual restraint, or to remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil; as, to rescue a prisoner from an officer; to rescue seamen from destruction by shipwreck.
So the people rescued Jonathan that he died not.
1Sam. 14. 30. Ps. 35.
Cattle taken by distress contrary to law, may be rescued by the owner, while on their way to the pound.
Estimate the value of one soul rescued from eternal guilt and agony, and destined to grow forever in the knowledge and likeness of God.
Definition 2024
Rescue
rescue
rescue
See also: Rescue
English
Verb
rescue (third-person singular simple present rescues, present participle rescuing, simple past and past participle rescued) (transitive)
- To save from any violence, danger or evil.
- The well-trained team rescued everyone after the avalanche.
- To free or liberate from confinement or other physical restraint.
- to rescue a prisoner from the enemy.
- To recover forcibly.
- To deliver by arms, notably from a siege.
- (figuratively) To remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil and sin.
- Traditionally missionaries aim to rescue many ignorant heathen souls.
- (figuratively) To achieve something positive under difficult conditions.
- 1999, Marion A. Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair, Oxford University Press (ISBN 9780195313581)
- Jews rescued some normalcy from increasingly difficult times by assuaging their constant Angst in the family and community and making do with less.
- 2013, Daniel Harris, The Promised Land: Manchester United's Historic Treble, Birlinn (ISBN 9780857906403)
- Over the course of the season, on 15 occasions the team had rescued a draw or better after falling behind, such that even against Juventus, there was an air of inevitability about the comeback.
- 1999, Marion A. Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair, Oxford University Press (ISBN 9780195313581)
Synonyms
- (to save from violence, danger or evil): free, deliver, pull out of the fire, save the day
- (to free from confinement): liberate, release
- (to free from restraint): release, unshackle, untie
- (to recover forcibly): recapture, retake
- (to deliver by arms): liberate
- (to rescue from evil or sin): redeem, save
Antonyms
- (all senses): abandon, ignore
- (to save from violence, danger or evil): endanger, imperil
- (to free from confinement): enslave, incarcerate
- (to free from restraint): bind, constrict, hamper, inhibit, obstruct, preclude
- (to recover forcibly): kidnap
- (to deliver by arms): arrest, capture
- (to rescue from evil or sin): corrupt, deprave
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to save from any danger or violence
|
|
to free, liberate from physical restraint
|
to recover forcibly
|
to deliver by arms, notably from a siege
|
to remove from exposure to evil/sin
Noun
rescue (plural rescues)
- An act or episode of rescuing, saving.
- A liberation, freeing.
- The forcible ending of a siege; liberation from similar military peril
- The rescue of Jerusalem was the original motive of the Crusaders
- A special airliner flight to bring home passengers who are stranded
- A rescuee.
- The dog proved a rescue with some behavior issues.
Usage notes
- Often used attributively as an adjective, e.g. "rescue equipment".
Derived terms
Translations
act of rescuing, saving
|
liberation — see liberation
forcible ending of a siege
|
special airliner flight
|
rescuee — see rescuee