saving

A reduction in cost or expenditure.

Adjective

  1. That saves someone from damnation; redemptive.
  2. Preserving; rescuing.
    • He is the saving strength of his anointed. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 28:8:
  3. Thrifty; frugal.
    • Hutchins has been a saving man all his life, and he has received good wages. Among his class he is regarded as wealthy. I daresay that he has five hundred pounds in the bank. - 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
    • Three of her bairns were drowned at sea, fishing off the Bervie braes they had been, but the fourth, the boy Cospatric, him that died the same day as the Old Queen, he was douce and saving and sensible, and set putting...
  4. Bringing back in returns or in receipts the sum expended; incurring no loss, though not gainful.
    • a saving bargain
    • The ship has made a saving voyage.
  5. Making reservation or exception.
    • a saving clause
  6. Relating to making a saving.
    • labour-saving
    • energy-saving light bulbs

Origin

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 English -ing English saving From save + -ing.

Forms

more saving most saving

Derived

nonsaving savingly savingness savingram spaving cost-saving facesaving labor-saving laborsaving labour-saving life-saving space-saving timesaving saving grace saving throw

Noun

  1. A reduction in cost or expenditure.
    • The shift of the supplier gave us a saving of 10 percent.
    • This new yard will replace a group of out-of-date yards, and there will be an estimated net saving of £150,000 a year. - 1954 August, “Marshalling Yard Reorganisation, Eastern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 570:
  2. Something (usually money) that is saved, particularly money that has been set aside for the future.
    • I invested all my savings in gold.
    • The collapse of Enron wiped out the life savings of many people, leaving them poor in their retirement.
    • “Rather than writing off both jets as a loss … teams made a bold decision in 2022 to remove the nose from AF-27 and put it onto AF-211 to maximize savings and add back an operational aircraft to the fleet,” a report...
  3. The action of the verb to save.
  4. Exception; reservation.
    • saving and transitional provisions
    • Tis Good Advice not to Contend with Thoſe that are too Strong for us, but ſtill with a ſaving to Honeſty and Juſtice, for the Integrity of the Mind must be ſupported againſt All Violence and Hazzards whatſoever. - 1692,...

Forms

savings

Derived

cost saving daylight saving daylight saving time lifesaving life savings paradox of saving saving throw weight-saving

Preposition

  1. Synonym of save (“except for”)
    • And in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 2:17:

    Synonyms: save

  2. Without disrespect to.
    • I should be ruled by the fiend, who, saving your reverence, is the devil himself. - c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...
    • Saving your presence. - a. 1796, Robert Burns, The Carle of Kellyburn Braes:

Verb

  1. present participle and gerund of save