save

verb \ ˈsāv \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: save in a Sentence

Definition of save

saved; saving

transitive verb

1 a : to deliver from sin

b : to rescue or deliver from danger or harm

c : to preserve or guard from injury, destruction, or loss

d : to store (data) in a computer or on a storage device

save a file

Remember to save your work frequently.

2 a : to put aside as a store or reserve : accumulate

saving money for emergencies

b : to spend less by

save 25 percent

3 a : to make unnecessary : avoid

it saves an hour's driving

b (1) : to keep from being lost to an opponent

(2) : to prevent an opponent from scoring or winning

4 : maintain, preserve

save appearances

intransitive verb

1 : to rescue or deliver someone

2 a : to put aside money

b : to avoid unnecessary waste or expense : economize

c : to spend less money

3 : to make a save

—

savable

or saveable play \ˈsā-və-bəl\ adjective

—

saver

noun

See save defined for English-language learners

See save defined for kids

Examples of save in a Sentence

He is trying to save his marriage by going to counseling for his drug addiction.
She saved a tense situation by staying calm.
Thinner computer monitors save space.
She would rather save than spend.
Save a little money for later.
She saves part of her pay every week.
I saved ,000 for a down payment on the house.
She saved at the grocery store by using coupons.

Recent Examples of save from the Web

These can be memberships to retailers like Amazon Prime and Sam's Club, which end up saving you money in the long run, or e-learning courses that will help bolster someone's resume and lead to better job opportunities.

— banu ibrahim, CNN Underscored, "The ultimate Father's Day guide: The top deals and gifts to shop right now," 13 June 2018
Grants for a family of three average $556 per month, less than the $594 average two decades ago, because during the states periodic budget crises, governors and legislators froze or even reduced grants to save money.

— San Francisco Chronicle, "One welfare boost for the poor, another for the rich," 11 June 2018
Another budget item pulled for a separate vote Wednesday was a recent proposal by Mayor Peter Weiss to save money by removing the council members’ individual full-time aides.

— phil diehl, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Residents lobby for Oceanside's long-awaited aquatics center," 9 June 2018
The result would be radical improvements in throughput while saving money and increasing the ability of the system to survive a fire, flood, or terrorist attack.

— peter wayner, The Atlantic, "The New York City Subway Is Beyond Repair," 9 June 2018
Experts say insurers would likely save money by covering OTC contraception.

— megan thielking, STAT, "Pressure mounts on drug makers to move birth control over the counter," 8 June 2018
City officials are hoping to save money by having Gartner review some 10 technology contracts.

— steve lord, Aurora Beacon-News, "Aurora City Council to vote on technology review service," 8 June 2018
Walsh and Blackmon hope their plan can save money for the city’s budget.

— jon chesto, BostonGlobe.com, "Activists criticize Boston mayor over energy policies," 8 June 2018
The bill is not necessarily about saving money for the state, said Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, the sponsor of the bill.

— kathleen gray, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan bill forces Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours per month," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'save.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of save

Middle English, from Anglo-French salver, from Late Latin salvare, from Latin salvus safe — more at safe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

save Synonyms

Phrases

pinch pennies;

Synonym Discussion of save

rescue, deliver, redeem, ransom, reclaim, save mean to set free from confinement or danger. rescue implies freeing from imminent danger by prompt or vigorous action.

- rescued the crew of a sinking ship

deliver implies release usually of a person from confinement, temptation, slavery, or suffering.

- delivered his people from bondage

redeem implies releasing from bondage or penalties by giving what is demanded or necessary.

- job training designed to redeem school dropouts from chronic unemployment

ransom specifically applies to buying out of captivity.

- tried to ransom the kidnap victim

reclaim suggests a bringing back to a former state or condition of someone or something abandoned or debased.

- reclaimed long-abandoned farms

save may replace any of the foregoing terms; it may further imply a preserving or maintaining for usefulness or continued existence.

- an operation that saved my life

save

noun

Definition of save

1 : a play that prevents an opponent from scoring or winning

2 : the action of a relief pitcher in baseball in successfully protecting a team's lead; also : official credit for a save

See save defined for English-language learners

Examples of save in a Sentence

The goalie made a spectacular save.
He leads the league in saves.

Recent Examples of save from the Web

During training sessions in Grozny, the team’s base in Russia, El Hadary appears raring to go, always walking energetically to the pitch ahead of his teammates, and diving at full stretch for saves.

— Washington Post, "At 45, El Hadary offers a World Cup tale of tenacity," 14 June 2018
Gates Tenorowicz had 15 saves for Old Rochester (20-2).

— BostonGlobe.com, "BC High beats Wellesley to roll into D1 South lacrosse final," 13 June 2018
Key stats: 10 shutouts, 178 saves, 1.18 goals-against average.

— patrick z. mcgavin, Aurora Beacon-News, "Announcing the 2018 Beacon-News Girls Soccer All-Area Team," 12 June 2018
Closer Ken Giles has 10 saves, but then there’s that pesky 5.21 ERA (going into Friday night’s game).

— San Antonio Express-News, "Whitley picks up where he left off," 8 June 2018
Feltman has 32 saves in his career, tied for the most at TCU.

— stefan stevenson, star-telegram, "TCU closer becomes 19th Horned Frog to earn high honor under Jim Schlossnagle," 31 May 2018
This edition is with closer Kelvin Herrera, a two-time All-Star who has 10 saves and a 0.96 ERA.

— pete grathoff, kansascity, "Five questions with ... Royals closer Kelvin Herrera | The Kansas City Star," 24 May 2018
His 10 saves are tied for third most in the league, and in almost every other category, Treinen is in the top two.

— susan slusser, SFChronicle.com, "A’s Blake Treinen making closer job ‘look easy’," 21 May 2018
Brad Hand has 12 saves and has gone more than one inning in five of his team-high 20 appearances.

— kevin acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Adam Cimber has had biggest save of season for Padres' bullpen," 17 May 2018

First Known Use of save

1883

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Baseball Terms

alley, cleanup, nightcap, safety, shag

save

preposition

Definition of save

: other than : but, except

no hope save one

See save defined for English-language learners

Examples of save in a Sentence

We had no hope save one.
everyone save me is going to the party

Recent Examples of save from the Web

All of these San Diego County companies save Malin are in the life science sector, reflecting the region’s role in biomedical research.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Ionis tops San Diego County corporate science research," 8 June 2018
Against the Golden Knights, Braden Holtby made the stick save of a lifetime to lock up a Game 2 win and opponent James Neal clanked a shot off the post in Game 4, staring at as much net as Tikkanen had 20 years ago.

— stephen whyno, baltimoresun.com, "Stanley Cup run makes up for Capitals' playoff failures," 7 June 2018
United States women's national hockey team goaltender Maddie Rooney became a national hero in Pyeongchang, after her shootout save clinched a gold medal for Team USA against Canada.

— nick schwartz, USA TODAY, "Defense Secretary sent note to US hockey goalie," 13 Mar. 2018
Closer Felipe Vazquez blew his third consecutive save chance Sunday in a 6-4 loss to the Cardinals, and the Pirates disclosed after the game that Vazquez experienced left forearm discomfort.

— mark gonzales, chicagotribune.com, "Pirates bullpen in tattered state for Cubs series," 28 May 2018
Monday's forecast is nearly identical, save Sunday's slight chance of rain.

— holly v. hays, Indianapolis Star, "Warm Memorial Day weekend will wrap up one of Indy's hottest Mays on record," 24 May 2018
Edubray Ramos worked around a walk in the ninth for his first big league save as the Phillies improved to 8-14 against the NL East .

— mike cranston, courant.com, "Mets' Jacob deGrom Lasts 1 Inning In Loss To Phillies," 13 May 2018
Together, the replacement pipes and the reduced water pressure save 13 million gallons (50 megaliters) daily.

— rachel becker, The Verge, "Today wasn’t Day Zero in Cape Town, but the water crisis isn’t over," 11 May 2018
The visible matter of the universe appears to be tugged around by an invisible counterpart, material that does not interact with surrounding matter in any observable way save gravity: dark matter.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "The Search for Dark Matter Continues, More Than a Mile Underground," 9 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of save

Middle English sauf, from Anglo-French sauve, from sauf, adjective, safe — more at safe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

save Synonyms

Synonyms

apart from, aside from, bar, barring, beside, besides, but, except (also excepting), except for, excluding, exclusive of, other than, outside, outside of, saving;

save

conjunction

Definition of save

1 : except for the fact that : only —used with that

of his earlier years little is known, save that he studied violin
—J. N. Burk

2 : but, except —used before a word often taken to be the subject of a clause

no one knows about it save she

See save defined for English-language learners

Examples of save in a Sentence

Little is known about his early years save that he left home when he was very young.

First Known Use of save

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

SAVE Defined for English Language Learners

save

verb

Definition of save for English Language Learners

: to keep (someone or something) safe : to stop (someone or something) from dying or being hurt, damaged, or lost
: to stop (something) from ending or failing : to make (something that is in danger of failing) successful
: to keep (something) from being lost or wasted

save

noun

Definition of save for English Language Learners

: a play that stops an opponent from scoring a goal
baseball of a relief pitcher : the act of keeping a team's lead when replacing another pitcher at the end of a game

save

preposition

Definition of save for English Language Learners

: other than : but or except

SAVE Defined for Kids

save

verb \ ˈsāv \

Definition of save for Students

saved; saving

1 : to free or keep from danger or harm

He saved a child from drowning.

2 : to keep from being ruined : preserve

The group works to save the rain forests.

3 : to put aside for later use

Save some milk for me.

4 : to keep money instead of spending it

5 : to keep from being spent, wasted, or lost

I'm saving my energy.

6 : to make unnecessary

Shortcuts save an hour's driving.

save

preposition

Definition of save for Students

: ¹except 2

It rained every day save one.

Learn More about save

See words that rhyme with save Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for save Spanish Central: Translation of save Nglish: Translation of save for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of save for Arabic speakers

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save

Definition of save

savable

saver

Examples of save in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of save

save Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases

Synonym Discussion of save

save

Definition of save

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First Known Use of save

Other Baseball Terms

save

Definition of save

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Origin and Etymology of save

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Synonyms

save

Definition of save

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First Known Use of save

SAVE Defined for English Language Learners

save

Definition of save for English Language Learners

save

Definition of save for English Language Learners

save

Definition of save for English Language Learners

SAVE Defined for Kids

save

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