2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] If you refer to people as savages , you dislike them because you think that they do not have an advanced society and are violent. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …their conviction that the area was a frozen desert peopled with uncouth savages.
3 VERB [usu passive] If someone is savaged by a dog or other animal, the animal attacks them violently. □ [be V -ed] The animal then turned on him and he was savaged to death.
4 VERB If someone or something that they have done is savaged by another person, that person criticizes them severely. □ [be V -ed] The show had already been savaged by critics. □ [V n] Speakers called for clearer direction and savaged the Chancellor.
sav|age|ry /sæ v I dʒri/ N‑UNCOUNT Savagery is extremely cruel and violent behaviour. □ [+ of ] …the sheer savagery of war.
sa|van|nah /səvæ nə/ (savannahs ) also savanna N‑VAR A savannah is a large area of flat, grassy land, usually in Africa.
sa|vant /sæ v ə nt, [AM ] sævɑː nt/ (savants )
1 N‑COUNT A savant is a person of great learning or natural ability. [FORMAL ] □ The opinion of savants on the composition of the lunar surface.
2 N‑COUNT You can refer to someone as an idiot savant if they seem to be less intelligent than normal people but are unusually good at doing one particular thing. □ …an idiot savant, an autistic with a gift for numbers.
save ◆◆◇ /se I v/ (saves , saving , saved )
1 VERB If you save someone or something, you help them to avoid harm or to escape from a dangerous or unpleasant situation. □ [V n] …a final attempt to save 40,000 jobs in the troubled aero industry. □ [V n + from ] A new machine no bigger than a 10p piece could help save babies from cot death. □ [V n + from ] The performance may have saved him from being eliminated. ● -saving COMB □ His boxing career was ended after two sight-saving operations.
2 VERB If you save , you gradually collect money by spending less than you get, usually in order to buy something that you want. □ [V ] Most people intend to save, but find that by the end of the month there is nothing left. □ [V + for ] Tim and Barbara are now saving for a house in the suburbs. □ [V n] They could not find any way to save money. ● PHRASAL VERB Save up means the same as save . □ [V P + for ] Julie wanted to save up something for a holiday. □ [V P n] People often put money aside to save up enough to make one major expenditure. [Also V n P ]
3 VERB If you save something such as time or money, you prevent the loss or waste of it. □ [V n] It saves time in the kitchen to have things you use a lot within reach. □ [V n n] I'll try to save him the expense of a flight from Perth. □ [V + on ] I got the fishmonger to skin the fish which helped save on the preparation time. [Also V n on n] ● -saving COMB □ …labor-saving devices.
4 VERB If you save something, you keep it because it will be needed later. □ [V n] Drain the beans thoroughly and save the stock for soup. [Also V n n]
5 VERB If someone or something saves you from an unpleasant action or experience, they change the situation so that you do not have to do it or experience it. □ [V n] The scanner will save risk and pain for patients. □ [V n + from ] She was hoping that something might save her from having to make a decision. □ [V n n] He arranges to collect the payment from the customer, thus saving the client the paperwork.
6 VERB If you save data in a computer, you give the computer an instruction to store the data on a tape or disk. [COMPUTING ] □ [V n] Try to get into the habit of saving your work regularly. □ [V + as ] Import your scanned images from the scanner and save as a JPG file.
7 VERB If a goalkeeper saves , or saves a shot, they succeed in preventing the ball from going into the goal. □ [V n] He saved one shot when the ball hit him on the head. [Also V ] ● N‑COUNT Save is also a noun. □ Their keeper made an unbelievable save at the end.
8 PREP You can use save to introduce the only things, people, or ideas that your main statement does not apply to. [FORMAL ] □ There is almost no water at all in the area save that brought up from bore holes. ● PHRASE Save for means the same as save . □ The parking lot was virtually empty save for a few cars clustered to one side.
9 to save the day → see day
10 to save face → see face ➊
▸ save up → see save 2 SYNONYMS save VERB 1
rescue: He had rescued her from a horrible life.
recover: Police raided five houses in south-east London and recovered stolen goods.
extricate: …extricate the survivors.
sav|er /se I və r / (savers ) N‑COUNT A saver is a person who regularly saves money by paying it into a bank account or a building society. □ Low interest rates are bad news for savers.
-saver /-se I və r / (-savers ) COMB -saver combines with words such as 'time' and 'energy' to indicate that something prevents the thing mentioned from being wasted. □ These zip-top bags are great space-savers if storage is limited.
sav|ing ◆◇◇ /se I v I ŋ/ (savings )