save

Etymology

From Middle English saven, sauven, a borrowing from Old French sauver, from Late Latin salvāre (“to save”).

verb

1. (transitive) To prevent harm or difficulty.
   1. To help (somebody) to survive, or rescue (somebody or something) from harm.
      She was saved from drowning by a passer-by.
      We were able to save a few of our possessions from the house fire.
      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. 2014-06-14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891
   2. To keep (something) safe; to safeguard.
      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, →OCLC, →OL, page 132
   3. To spare (somebody) from effort, or from something undesirable.
   4. (Christianity) To redeem or protect someone from eternal damnation.
      Jesus Christ came to save sinners.
   5. (sports) To catch or deflect (a shot at goal).
      Chelsea's youngsters, who looked lively throughout, then combined for the second goal in the seventh minute. Romeu's shot was saved by Wolves goalkeeper Dorus De Vries but Piazon kept the ball alive and turned it back for an unmarked Bertrand to blast home. 2012, Chelsea 6-0 Wolves
   6. (baseball) To preserve, as a relief pitcher, (a win of another pitcher's on one's team) by defending the lead held when the other pitcher left the game.
2. To put aside, to avoid.
   1. (transitive) To store for future use.
      Let's save the packaging in case we need to send the product back.
   2. (transitive) To conserve or prevent the wasting of.
      Save electricity by turning off the lights when you leave the room.
      However, we’ve reached the stage where our technological leaps and bounds no longer save us hours, or even minutes – they shave only seconds from our day-to-day tasks. May 21 2019, Dylan Curran, “Facial recognition will soon be everywhere. Are we prepared?”, in The Guardian
   3. (transitive) To obviate or make unnecessary.
   4. (transitive, intransitive, computing, video games) To write a file to disk or other storage medium.
      Where did I save that document? I can't find it on the desktop.
   5. (intransitive) To economize or avoid waste.
   6. (transitive and intransitive) To accumulate money or valuables.
   7. (reflexive, idiomatic, often with "for") To refrain from romantic or (especially in later use) sexual relationships until one is married or is with a suitable partner.
      She told me she's saving herself for marriage.
      Ryder: Come on—you two were intimate, right? Peebee: Take a wild guess. Why are people so hung up on sex? It's a natural expression of attraction. Peebee: We were doing exciting, daring, irreverent things. It stirs stuff up. Like shaking up a bottle of champagne, you know? Peebee: You should know, better than anyone... Peebee: I'm not the type to "save myself". 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tempest
   8. (informal) To avoid saying something.
      Save your excuses and lies.

noun

1. An instance of preventing (further) harm or difficulty.
   1. In various sports, a block that prevents an opponent from scoring.
      The goaltender made a great save.
      Wolves defender Ronald Zubar was slightly closer with his shot on the turn as he forced Pepe Reina, on his 200th Premier League appearance, into a low save. December 29, 2010, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC
   2. (baseball) A successful attempt by a relief pitcher to preserve the win of another pitcher on one's team.
      Jones retired seven to earn the save.
   3. (professional wrestling, slang) A point in a professional wrestling match when one or more wrestlers run to the ring to aid a fellow wrestler who is being beaten.
      The giant wrestler continued to beat down his smaller opponent, until several wrestlers ran in for the save.
   4. (informal) An action that brings one back out of an awkward situation.
      Nice save.
2. (computing) The act, process, or result of saving data to a storage medium.
   If you're hit by a power cut, you'll lose all of your changes since your last save.
   The game console can store up to eight saves on a single cartridge.
3. (roleplaying games) A saving throw.

prep

1. Except; with the exception of.
   Under the terms of the Interdict no church services and offices were to be permitted save the baptism of infants and the confession of the dying. 2004, David Carpenter, The Penguin History of Britain: The Struggle for Mastery, Penguin Books

conj

1. unless; except
   Only the parties may institute proceedings, save where the law shall provide otherwise. 2009, Nicolas Brooke (translator), French Code of Civil Procedure in English 2008, Article 1 of Book One, quoted after: 2016, Laverne Jacobs and Sasha Baglay, The Nature of Inquisitorial Processes in Administrative Regimes: Global Perspectives, published by Routledge (first published in 2013 by Ashgate Publishing), p. 8