- 1 [transitive] to keep somebody/something safe from death, harm, loss, etc. save somebody/something to save somebody’s life Doctors were unable to save her. He's trying to save their marriage. She needs to win the next two games to save the match. (figurative) Thanks for doing that. You saved my life (= helped me a lot). save somebody/something (from something) to save a rare species (from extinction) Money from local businesses helped save the school from closure. save somebody/something from doing something She saved a little girl from falling into the water. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbsingle-handedly, possibly, potentially, … verb + savebe able to, can, be unable to, … prepositionfrom phrasesan attempt to save something, an effort to save something, a battle to save something, … See full entry money
- 2 [intransitive, transitive] to keep money instead of spending it, especially in order to buy a particular thing I'm not very good at saving. save (up) (for something) I'm saving for a new bike. We've been saving up to go to Australia. save something (up) (for something) You should save a little each week. I've saved almost £100 so far. Synonymssavebudget economize tighten your beltThese words all mean to spend less money.save to keep money instead of spending it, often in order to buy a particular thing:I’m saving for a new car.budget to be careful about the amount of money you spend; to plan to spend an amount of money for a particular purpose:If we budget carefully we’ll be able to afford the trip.economize to use less money, time, etc. than you normally usetighten your belt (rather informal) to spend less money because there is less available:With the price increases, we are all having to tighten our belts.Patterns to save up/budget for something to have to save/budget/economize/tighten our belts to try to/manage to save/budget/economize Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbup verb + savelook to, try to, manage to, … prepositionfor, on phrasesscrimp and save, thereby saving See full entry collect something
- 3[transitive] save something to collect something because you like it or for a special purpose I've been saving theatre programmes for years. If you save ten tokens you can get a T-shirt. keep for future
- 4 [transitive] to keep something to use or enjoy in the future save something (for something/somebody) He's saving his strength for the last part of the race. We'll eat some now and save some for tomorrow. Save some food for me. save somebody something Save me some food. not waste
- 5 [transitive, intransitive] to avoid wasting something or using more than necessary save something We'll take a cab to save time. Book early and save £50! We should try to save water. save something on something The government is trying to save £1 million on defence. save somebody something (on something) If we go this way it will save us two hours on the trip. save on something I save on fares by walking to work. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbup verb + savelook to, try to, manage to, … prepositionfor, on phrasesscrimp and save, thereby saving See full entry avoid something bad
- 6 [transitive] to avoid doing something difficult or unpleasant; to make somebody able to avoid doing something difficult or unpleasant save somebody from doing something The prize money saved her from having to find a job. save something She did it herself to save argument. save somebody something Thanks for sending that letter for me—it saved me a trip. save doing something He's grown a beard to save shaving. save somebody doing something If you phone for an appointment, it'll save you waiting. in sport
- 7 [transitive, intransitive] save (something) (in football (soccer ), etc.) to prevent an opponent’s shot from going in the goal to save a penalty The goalie saved Johnson's long-range shot. (British English) The goalie saved brilliantly from Johnson's long-range shot. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbbrilliantly, superbly, bravely, … See full entry See related entries: Soccer computing
- 8 [transitive, intransitive] save (something) to make a computer keep work, for example by putting it on a disk Save data frequently. Word Originverb Middle English: from Old French sauver, from late Latin salvare, from Latin salvus ‘safe’. The noun dates from the late 19th cent. Synonymssaverescue bail out redeemThese words all mean to prevent somebody/something from dying, losing something, being harmed or embarrassed.save to prevent somebody/something from dying, being harmed or destroyed or losing something:Doctors were unable to save him. a campaign to save the panda from extinctionrescue to save somebody/something from a dangerous or harmful situation:They were rescued by a passing cruise ship.bail somebody out to rescue somebody/something from a difficult situation, especially by providing money:Don’t expect me to bail you out if it all goes wrong.redeem (formal, religion) to save somebody from the power of evil:He was a sinner, redeemed by the grace of God. Redeem is also used in non-religious language in the phrase redeem a situation, which means to prevent a situation from being as bad as it might be.Patterns to save/rescue/redeem somebody/something from something to save/rescue/redeem a situation to save/redeem sinners/mankind to rescue somebody/bail somebody out financiallyExtra examples Doctors battled to save the little boy’s life. He is responsible for saving the lives of the aircrew. I’m saving up to buy a new car. I’m trying to save up for my holiday. It’s a trick that might just save us from total disaster. Nothing could save us from disaster. She helped save my career. The furniture was beyond saving. They saved the paintings from destruction. They’re hoping to save on printing costs. We managed to save the animals from being put down. We scrimp and save to send our children to a private school. We use video conferencing for our meetings, thereby saving thousands in travel expenses. We’re trying to save up for our honeymoon. a last desperate attempt to save his marriage He’s saving his strength for the last part of the race. I won’t save you a seat if you’re late. I’ve saved some food for you. We’ll eat some now and save some for tomorrow. Doctors were unable to save him. Factory and farm managers were told to save electricity during peak hours. Gerrard’s late goal saved the day for Liverpool. I’m not very good at saving. I’m saving for a new bike. I’ve saved almost £100 so far. She tried to get the boy to run away and save himself, not try to help her. She was fired, but she saved face by telling everyone she’d resigned. Thanks for doing that— you saved my life!. There’s no doubt that the firefighters saved my daughter’s life. They’re launching a campaign to save the eagle from extinction. This new system could save us a lot of money. We made one last attempt to save our marriage. We’ll take a cab to save time. We’ve been saving up to go to Australia.Idioms
verb jump to other results
BrE BrE//seɪv//; NAmE NAmE//seɪv//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they save BrE BrE//seɪv//; NAmE NAmE//seɪv//
he / she / it saves BrE BrE//seɪvz//; NAmE NAmE//seɪvz//
past simple saved BrE BrE//seɪvd//; NAmE NAmE//seɪvd//
past participle saved BrE BrE//seɪvd//; NAmE NAmE//seɪvd//
-ing form saving BrE BrE//ˈseɪvɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈseɪvɪŋ//
Soccer(informal) to be completely unable to do something He can't interview people to save his life.
(informal) to rescue somebody from a very difficult situation
(informal) used to tell somebody that it is not worth wasting time and effort saying something because it will not change anything Save your breath—you'll never persuade her.
to prevent failure or defeat, when this seems certain to happen Gerrard's late goal saved the day for Liverpool.
to avoid or help somebody avoid embarrassment She was fired, but she saved face by telling everyone she'd resigned.
to try to avoid death, punishment, etc., especially by leaving others in an extremely difficult situation To save his own skin, he lied and blamed the accident on his friend.
Check pronunciation: save
