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to come to the rescue

to come to the rescue

14 3.4
Arrive to help someone who is in trouble
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm tə ðə ˈrɛskju/
translation icon : acudir al rescate
  • In fact, the Indians of the Quebec area came to the rescue of Jacques Cartier in the spring of 1535.
  • come to the rescue to help
  • come to the rescue again
  • Cavalry comes to the rescue

So the cute little Kate speed charger comes to the rescue.

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Examples

  • Sebastian came to the rescue in Peru while we were still down there.

  • It truly is a win win and yet another example of the community coming to the rescue when YouTube couldn't or wouldn't.

  • And that is when collaboration came to the rescue.

    Academic text (2013)
  • It's time for the adults to come to the rescue again.

    Blog text (28)
  • Thankfully, the cavalry of common sense is there to come to the rescue!

    Academic text (2004)
  • So who came to the rescue in this case to get us out of the conundrum?

  • The Democrats, on the other hand, always come to the rescue and get us out of the Republican messes.

    Blog text (8)
  • Gene comes to the rescue the next morning by confessing the entire story to Betty's parents.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Thankfully, Tapbots came to the rescue with a gorgeous, Retina-optimized Twitter client: Tweetbot.

    Blog text (14)
  • The firefighters came to the rescue when the house caught on fire.

Synonyms

to save
vsto come to the rescue
1.0

Rescue someone or something from danger

focuses on arriving or intervening rather than longer term protection
to rescue
vsto come to the rescue
633 1.0

Save someone or something from danger

focuses on arriving or intervening rather than the final safe outcome
to help out
vsto come to the rescue
  • Informal
486 1.0

To do something for someone who cannot do it alone

is about arriving or intervening rather than brief task specific help
to come through for
vsto come to the rescue
  • Informal
26 3.5

To help someone when they need it most

emphasizes arriving or intervening rather than long term reliability
to come to one's rescue
vsto come to the rescue
16 3.1

To help someone who is in trouble or danger

focuses on arriving or intervening rather than emphasizing timing
to lend a helping hand
vsto come to the rescue
  • Informal
6 2.7

To give someone support with a task or problem

focuses on arriving or intervening rather than voluntary cooperative help
to come to (someone's) aid
vsto come to the rescue
3 3.1

To help someone when they are in trouble

focuses on arriving or intervening rather than ongoing support
to succor
vsto come to the rescue
  • Formal
1 9.6

To give help to someone in a difficult or dangerous time

is about arriving or intervening rather than simply offering general assistance
the cavalry showed up
vsto come to the rescue
  • Informal
1 7.7

Help arrives suddenly when it is most needed

highlights the act of arriving or intervening to give assistance
to save (someone's) ass
vsto come to the rescue
  • Offensive
1 9.3

To help someone out of a dangerous or embarrassing situation at the last moment

does not require last minute action but covers arriving to assist
to pull someone's bacon out of the fire
vsto come to the rescue
  • Informal
1 8.9

Save someone from a difficult situation at the last moment

does not stress last minute timing and denotes general arrival to help
to come to the scratch
vsto come to the rescue
  • UK
9.6

To help when needed, especially in a difficult situation

stresses arriving or active intervention rather than merely meeting obligation

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

773 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

How Helpful

to save
1.0
to rescue
633 1.0
to come to the rescue
14 3.4
assist
33 1.8
help
1.0

Surface Forms

come to the rescue infinitive
come to the rescue past participle
coming to the rescue present participle
comes to the rescue third person singular

Morphology

come + to + the + rescue

The meaning 'to arrive or intervene to help' is directly compositional from 'come' (to arrive) + 'rescue' (an act of saving), with the preposition phrase 'to the' indicating direction/purpose. This is a common verb + noun phrase pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Come to the rescue paints a simple picture: someone comes running to perform a rescue, like a lifeguard jumping in to pull a swimmer from the water. So, it means 'to arrive to help someone who is in trouble'.