1
a
: compensation paid for saving a ship or its cargo from the perils of the sea or for the lives and property rescued in a wreck
b
: the act of saving or rescuing a ship or its cargo
c
: the act of saving or rescuing property in danger (as from fire)
2
a
: property saved from destruction in a calamity (such as a wreck or fire)
b
: something extracted (as from rubbish) as valuable or useful
salvaged; salvaging
: to rescue or save especially from wreckage or ruin
Examples of salvage in a Sentence
Noun
The ship was beyond salvage.
the salvage from the wrecked ship
Verb
Divers salvaged some of the sunken ship's cargo.
Few of their possessions were salvaged from the fire.
He is trying to salvage his marriage.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Amid ongoing salvage operations in the aftermath of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse last week, divers are relying on sonar technology to guide them underwater.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 3 Apr. 2024
The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repairs and at least $19.5 million in salvage.
—TIME, 1 Apr. 2024
That includes seven floating cranes, 10 tugs, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said salvage teams will first have to remove remains of the bridge from the ship, then refloat the vessel and move it.
—Josh Eidelson Bloomberg, arkansasonline.com, 28 Mar. 2024
Limb salvage, for example, requires specialized implants and ample coordination.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Mar. 2024
Joined by the mayor, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. and Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), U.S. Coast Guard officials delivered a briefing on recovery efforts and the impending feat of maritime engineering the salvage operation required.
—Erin Cox, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
Officials were turning Wednesday toward a key salvage operation that has implications for the port of Baltimore - removal of the massive wreckage left after a cargo ship hit Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and sent it crashing into the river.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
George Petras, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Burger smashed a three-run home run against Marcus Stroman to lead the Marlins to a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees to salvage the series finale at Yankee Stadium after dropping the first two games of the series.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Over 1,000 paintings were salvaged from the fire, according to El País’ Miguel Ángel García Vega.
—Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
The Red Wolves got a strong start from Dylan Heine (2-0), who worked 6 1/3 innings, to defeat Georgia Southern's Ty Fisher 6-3 on Saturday to salvage the final game of their series.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 2 Apr. 2024
And no amount of puppy love can salvage the woof-worthy dialogue.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
The Bahamas’ motley mob included experts in fishing wrecks sunk along the Florida coast, locals who rushed to salvage Spanish, British, Dutch and French valuables lost to hurricanes and storms.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
The malachite pieces were salvaged from the making of other watches at Bulgari.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
Recovery efforts for the remaining four victims were put on pause Wednesday amid dangerous diving conditions, as authorities have directed their attention to salvaging the wreckage.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
The outlet also reported on April 8 that a commercial salvage company was working to remove the vessel from the water.
—Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Amid ongoing salvage operations in the aftermath of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse last week, divers are relying on sonar technology to guide them underwater.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 3 Apr. 2024
The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repairs and at least $19.5 million in salvage.
—TIME, 1 Apr. 2024
That includes seven floating cranes, 10 tugs, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said salvage teams will first have to remove remains of the bridge from the ship, then refloat the vessel and move it.
—Josh Eidelson Bloomberg, arkansasonline.com, 28 Mar. 2024
Limb salvage, for example, requires specialized implants and ample coordination.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Mar. 2024
Joined by the mayor, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. and Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), U.S. Coast Guard officials delivered a briefing on recovery efforts and the impending feat of maritime engineering the salvage operation required.
—Erin Cox, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
Officials were turning Wednesday toward a key salvage operation that has implications for the port of Baltimore - removal of the massive wreckage left after a cargo ship hit Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and sent it crashing into the river.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
Verb
Thousands of artifacts have been salvaged Titanic was much smaller than today's cruise ships
Want to learn more about Titanic?
—George Petras, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Burger smashed a three-run home run against Marcus Stroman to lead the Marlins to a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees to salvage the series finale at Yankee Stadium after dropping the first two games of the series.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Over 1,000 paintings were salvaged from the fire, according to El País’ Miguel Ángel García Vega.
—Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
The Red Wolves got a strong start from Dylan Heine (2-0), who worked 6 1/3 innings, to defeat Georgia Southern's Ty Fisher 6-3 on Saturday to salvage the final game of their series.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 2 Apr. 2024
And no amount of puppy love can salvage the woof-worthy dialogue.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
The Bahamas’ motley mob included experts in fishing wrecks sunk along the Florida coast, locals who rushed to salvage Spanish, British, Dutch and French valuables lost to hurricanes and storms.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
The malachite pieces were salvaged from the making of other watches at Bulgari.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
Recovery efforts for the remaining four victims were put on pause Wednesday amid dangerous diving conditions, as authorities have directed their attention to salvaging the wreckage.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'salvage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near salvage
Cite this Entry
“Salvage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salvage. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
salvage
1 of 2 noun
sal·vage
ˈsal-vij 
1
: money paid for saving a wrecked or endangered ship or its cargo or passengers
2
: the act of saving a ship or possessions in danger of being lost
3
: something saved or recovered (as from a wreck or fire)
salvage
2 of 2 verb
salvaged; salvaging
: to rescue or save especially from wreckage or ruin
salvager
noun
Medical Definition
salvage
2 of 2 transitive verb
salvaged; salvaging
: to save (an organ, tissue, or patient) by preventive or therapeutic measures
a salvaged cancer patient
salvaged lung tissue
Legal Definition
salvage
noun
sal·vage
ˈsal-vij
1
a
: compensation paid for saving a ship or its cargo from the perils of the sea or for recovering it from an actual loss (as in a shipwreck)
b
: the act of saving or rescuing a ship or its cargo
c
: the act of saving or rescuing property in danger (as from fire)
2
a
: property saved from destruction (as in a wreck or fire)
b
: damaged property acquired by an insurer after payment for the loss compare abandonment sense 1d
More from Merriam-Webster on salvage
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for salvage
Nglish: Translation of salvage for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of salvage for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about salvage
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