Salvage Meaning
/ˈsælvɪd͡ʒ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe rescue of a ship, its crew and passengers or its cargo from a hazardous situation.
nounThe ship, crew or cargo so rescued.
Sentence Examples
Let's salvage what we can.
Maybe you can find the replacement parts you need in a salvage yard.
He was trying to salvage any pride that he had.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The divers tried to ____ the valuable cargo from the sunken ship.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The divers attempted to ____ the cargo from the sunken vessel before it deteriorated.
Word Origin & History
From Old French salver (see also save, from a variant form), from Late Latin salvare (“to make safe, secure, save”), from Latin salvus (“safe”) with the English suffix -age.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[...] the debris was hurled down the hillside on to the line and swept the engine off the track and into the sea; the engine in question, ex-Cambrian 0-6-0 No. 874, was not considered to be worth salvage, and was abandoned."
— 1943 March and April, “A British Avalanche Shelter”, in Railway Magazine, page 80:
"Robin van Persie looked to have secured the points for the Gunners with a fine goal from Theo Walcott's through ball. But Perisic dipped a sublime 20-yard shot home to salvage a draw."
— 2011 September 13, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2023:
"During the war, but unrecorded because of the requirements of censorship, a link with the now partly-abandoned Cardiff Railway disappeared with the demolition of Rhydyfelin Viaduct, near Treforest, South Wales, in the latter part of 1942. The steelwork in this structure, amounting to nearly 1,150 tons, was salvaged as scrap metal to assist the war effort."
— 1946 January and February, “Notes and News: Demolition of Rhydyfelin Viaduct”, in Railway Magazine, page 52:
"Cornels, and ſalvage Berries of the Wood, / And Roots and Herbs have been my meagre Food."
— 1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 292, lines 855–856:
"A man in Salvage, N.L., is being called a 'miracle man' by some residents in the community for lifting a vehicle off his son-in-law, but he says he's no hero."
— 2013 July 19, “72-year-old N.L. 'superman' lifts SUV off son-in-law”, in CBC, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2023:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The divers tried to ____ the valuable cargo from the sunken ship.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The divers attempted to ____ the cargo from the sunken vessel before it deteriorated.