rescue

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /ˈreskjuː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: res‧cue

Verb

Plain form rescue

Third-person singular rescues

Past tense rescued

Past participle rescued

Present participle rescuing

1. If you rescue someone, you save them from any violence, emergency, or evil.

   The lifeguard jumped into the swimming pool to rescue the drowning woman.

2. If you rescue someone, you free them from a prison or some other physical restraint.

   After capturing the enemy army, they rescued the prisoners.

3. If you rescue something, you take it back using force.

Synonyms

• (save from violence/emergency): free, deliver
• (free from being confined): liberate, release
• (free from being restrained): release, unshackle
• (take it back using force): recapture, retake

Antonyms

• (all senses): abandon, ignore
• (save from violence/emergency): imperil, endanger
• (free from being confined): enslave, incarcerate
• (free from being restrained): bind, constrict, hamper, inhibit, obstruct
• (take by using force): kidnap

Related words

• rescuee
• rescuer

Noun

Singular rescue

Plural rescues

1. A rescue is a saving of someone or something.

   We saw his rescue from the burning house.

2. A rescue is a freeing of someone or something.

   The soldiers rescue of their target from the prison was all they could talk about.