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/seɪv/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo prevent harm or difficulty.
verbTo prevent harm or difficulty., To help (somebody) to survive, or rescue (somebody or something) from harm.
Sentence Examples
In which folder did you save the file?
We must cut our expenses to save money.
I get my food delivered from the supermarket to save time.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The firefighter managed to ____ the child from the burning building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The goalkeeper managed to ____ the penalty kick and keep the score level.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *sl̥h₂-wós Proto-Italic *salawos Latin salvus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin salvō Latin salvāre Old French sauverbor. Middle English saven English save From Middle English saven, sauven, a borrowing from Old French sauver, from Late Latin salvāre (“to save”). Displaced native Old English nerian.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right"
— 1980 March 7, Billy Joel, “You May Be Right”, in Glass Houses:
"One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination."
— 2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891:
"Thou hast[…]quitted all to save / A world from utter loss."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"IF IT SAVES JUST ONE LIFE
You often hear a new policy or procedure justified by the specious idea that "If it saves the life of just one (insert here 'child' or 'American soldier'), it will be worth it." Well, maybe not. Maybe a closer look would show that the cost in time, money or inconvenience would be much too high to justify merely saving one life. What's wrong with looking at it like that? Governments and corporations make those calculations all the time."
— 2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 132:
"I'll save you / That labour, sir. All's now done."
— 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The firefighter managed to ____ the child from the burning building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The goalkeeper managed to ____ the penalty kick and keep the score level.