rescuer

From rescue +‎ -er.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛskjuːə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

rescuer (plural rescuers)

1. A person who rescues someone or something.
   • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 171:

     As Tarzan’s heavy hand fell upon his shoulder the priest dropped his victim, and turned upon her would-be rescuer.

   • 1997 September 28, “In Rescuing a Relative, a Helping or a Heavy Hand?”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     […] an opportunistic relative masquerading as his rescuer, […]

   • 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Time‎^[2]:

     She knew from avalanche safety courses that outstretched hands might puncture the ice surface and alert rescuers. She knew that if victims ended up buried under the snow, cupped hands in front of the face could provide a small pocket of air for the mouth and nose. Without it, the first breaths could create a suffocating ice mask.

   • 2025 February 19, Mike Lewis, “Tragedy at Moorgate”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 59, about the Moorgate tube crash:

     By now, a new worry had emerged. With the rescuers working close to so many dead bodies, there was fear of disease taking hold.

• recures, recurse, securer