Rescue Meaning
/ˈɹɛs.kjuː/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo save from any violence, danger or evil.
verbTo free or liberate from confinement or other physical restraint.
Sentence Examples
The rescue workers are going to hand out supplies to the victims of the earthquake.
Try to hold on until a rescue team arrives.
We had given up hope of rescue.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The firefighters worked all night to ____ the people trapped in the collapsed building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The coastguard launched a ____ operation after receiving a distress signal from the stricken vessel.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from Latin prefix re- (“re-”) + excutere (“to shake or drive out”), from ex (“out”) + quatiō (“to shake”). Displaced native Old English nerian.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Soon after rescuing some silly children from the local caves, the alien prangs his vessel and dies."
— 2004, John Pym, editor, Time Out Film Guide, page 70:
"The students’ final mission was their longest: a trip across the Nile to the city of Omdurman, at the request of Rwandan diplomats, to rescue a woman who, unlike the first they rescued, really was pregnant."
— 2023 May 5, Declan Walsh, “‘Only Word for Them Is Heroes’: How 2 Students Rescued Dozens in Sudan”, in The New York Times:
"Jews rescued some normalcy from increasingly difficult times by assuaging their constant Angst in the family and community and making do with less."
— 1999, Marion A. Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:
"Arsenal's hopes of starting their Champions League campaign with an away win were dashed when substitute Ivan Perisic's superb late volley rescued a point for Borussia Dortmund."
— 2011 September 13, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC:
"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."
— 2013, Daniel Harris, The Promised Land: Manchester United's Historic Treble, Birlinn, →ISBN:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The firefighters worked all night to ____ the people trapped in the collapsed building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The coastguard launched a ____ operation after receiving a distress signal from the stricken vessel.