Definition of save

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save¹    (sv) KEY 

VERB:
saved, sav·ing, saves
VERB:
tr.

1. 1. To rescue from harm, danger, or loss.
   2. To set free from the consequences of sin; redeem.
2. To keep in a safe condition; safeguard.
3. To prevent the waste or loss of; conserve.
4. To set aside for future use; store.
5. To treat with care by avoiding fatigue, wear, or damage; spare: save one's eyesight.
6. To make unnecessary; obviate: Your taking the trunk to the attic has saved me an extra trip.
7. 1. Sports To prevent (a goal by an opponent).
   2. To preserve a victory in (a game).
   3. Baseball To preserve (another pitcher's win) by protecting one's team's lead during a stint of relief pitching.
8. Computer Science To copy (a file) from a computer's main memory to a disk or other storage medium.

VERB:
intr.

1. To avoid waste or expense; economize.
2. To accumulate money: saving for a vacation.
3. To preserve a person or thing from harm or loss.

NOUN:

1. Sports An act that prevents an opponent from scoring.
2. Baseball A preservation by a relief pitcher of another pitcher's win.

IDIOM:
save (one's) breath

To refrain from a futile appeal or effort: Save your breath; you can't dissuade them.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English saven, from Old French sauver, from Late Latin salvre, from Latin salvus, safe; see sol- in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
sava·ble or savea·ble(Adjective), saver(Noun)

SYNONYMS:
save¹, rescue, reclaim, redeem, deliver

These verbs mean freeing a person or thing from danger, evil, confinement, or servitude. Save is the most general: The smallpox vaccine has saved many lives. A police officer saved the tourist from being cheated. Rescue usually implies saving from immediate harm or danger by direct action: rescue a rare manuscript from a fire. Reclaim can mean to bring a person back, as from error to virtue or to right or proper conduct: "To reclaim me from this course of life was the sole cause of his journey to London" (Henry Fielding). To redeem is to free someone from captivity or the consequences of sin or error; the term can imply the expenditure of money or effort: The price for redeeming the hostages was extortionate. Deliver applies to liberating people from something such as misery, peril, error, or evil: "consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them" (George Washington).