What does rescue mean?
Rescue describes the act of saving or releasing someone or something from danger, difficulty, captivity, destruction, or loss. It can function as a verb, as in “rescue a trapped animal,” or as a noun meaning the act of bringing someone to safety, as in “the rescue mission.” Its uses range from literal emergencies involving firefighters, emergency workers, or rescue teams to figurative situations, such as rescuing a failing agreement or a threatened tradition. The word generally carries positive connotations of courage, care, and effective intervention, although it can also imply that the danger or problem is serious. Rescue is useful in English because it covers both urgent physical intervention and the broader idea of preserving or restoring what is at risk. Its related noun, rescuer, identifies the person who performs the action.
The act of saving or releasing someone or something from danger, difficulty, captivity, or loss. It can also refer to a person or thing brought to safety.
"The rescue was completed without serious injuries."
A countable noun; “rescues” is the standard plural.
To save, free, or recover someone or something from danger, difficulty, confinement, or loss.
"The crew rescued the sailor from the storm."
Usually transitive, though it can also occur without an explicit object when the person or thing saved is understood.
“Rescue” is a countable noun when referring to an act of saving someone or something.
"The soldiers were praised for their successful rescues."
Rescue literally carries the idea of freeing something that has become entangled: its Latin ancestor referred to uncovering or releasing what was trapped.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rescue come from?
Rescue entered Middle English through Anglo-French noun and verb forms, ultimately from Latin rescuer(e), meaning “to free from entanglement” or “save.” The Latin form combined re-, meaning “back” or “again,” with a root associated with uncovering or freeing something that had become entangled; that root is also connected with Latin scuere, “to sew.” The related English word “scour” preserves this root in a different sense, while “rescuer” developed directly from the modern English verb.
Related word forms
How rescue is actually used
The word is broadly neutral in register but often conveys urgency, courage, or a positive moral outcome. As a verb, it is normally transitive and can be followed by a person, animal, or thing as its object; in constructions such as 'rescue someone from,' the preposition specifies the danger or condition being escaped. The noun is countable and commonly used in emergency-service and public-safety contexts.