rescue

/ˈɹɛs.kjuː/

//ˈɹɛs.kjuː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"rescue" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rescue” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,131. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,131
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To save from any violence, danger or evil.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rescue · rescue · English

rescue · rank #3,131 · 8 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,131
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH represents

Nearest frequency peer: represents (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “rescue”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “rescue” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

rescue vs revue
67% similar
rescue vs reside
67% similar
rescue vs roscoe
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for rescue
PropertyValue
Headwordrescue
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈɹɛs.kjuː/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,131
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rescue”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).rescuelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “represents” (#3,130), “resulting” (#3,132), “relative” (#3,129). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rescue” is #3,131. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around rescue (IPA /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,131 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for rescue, with forms such as "erscue", "recsue", and "resccue". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "revue", "reside", "roscoe", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from Latin prefix re- (“re-”) + excutere (“to shake or drive out”), from ex (“out”) + quatiō (“to shake”). The correct English form is rescue, spelled R-E-S-C-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To save from any violence, danger or evil.
  2. 2
    To free or liberate from confinement or other physical restraint.
  3. 3
    To recover forcibly, especially from a siege.
  4. 4
    To remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil and sin.
  5. 5
    To achieve something positive under difficult conditions.
  6. 6
    To restore a particular trait in an organism that was lost or altered, especially where this loss was as the consequence of some experimental manipulation.
  7. 7
    To salvage and restore something that has been discarded.
  8. 8
    To fix a mistake made while preparing something, especially in cooking.
  9. 9
    To adopt (an animal).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rescue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The well-trained team rescued everyone after the avalanche.
  2. Soon after rescuing some silly children from the local caves, the alien prangs his vessel and dies.

Etymology

From Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from Latin prefix re- (“re-”) + excutere (“to shake or drive out”), from ex (“out”) + quatiō (“to shake”).

This word in other languages

socorrer(Español)délivrer(Français)retten(Deutsch)resgatar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erscue
  • recsue
  • resccue
  • resceu
  • resscue
  • resuce
  • rrescue
  • rsecue

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rescue - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

erscue2recsue2resccue1resceu2resscue1resuce2rrescue1rsecue2
Edit distance from "rescue"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rescue"?
"rescue" is spelled R-E-S-C-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/.
What does "rescue" mean?
As a verb, "rescue" means: To save from any violence, danger or evil.
What words are commonly confused with "rescue"?
"rescue" is commonly confused with "revue", "reside", "roscoe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rescue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rescue" is /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rescue"?
From Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from Latin prefix re- (“re-”) + excutere (“to shake or drive out”), from ex (“out”) + quatiō (“to shake”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rescue", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

proved#3,126soccer#3,138pocket#3,123stable#3,139

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

sharp8 variantspants8 variantsoffices8 variantstrick8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list