/ ˈsælvɪdʒ; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun [ U ]
1.
the act of saving things that have been, or are likely to be, damaged or lost, especially in a disaster or an accident :
the salvage of the wrecked tanker
a salvage company / operation / team
2.
the things that are saved from a disaster or an accident :
an exhibition of the salvage from the wreck
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
salvage sth (from sth) to save a badly damaged ship, etc. from being lost completely; to save parts or property from a damaged ship or from a fire, etc. :
The wreck was salvaged by a team from the RAF.
We only managed to salvage two paintings from the fire.
The house was built using salvaged materials.
2.
to manage to rescue sth from a difficult situation; to stop a bad situation from being a complete failure :
What can I do to salvage my reputation? (= get a good reputation again)
He wondered what he could do to salvage the situation.
United lost 5–2, salvaging a little pride with two late goals.
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent. (as a noun denoting payment for saving a ship or its cargo): from French , from medieval Latin salvagium , from Latin salvare to save. The verb dates from the late 19th cent.