Property, parts, or material saved from destruction and kept because it still has use or value.
Examples
The designer built the table from architectural salvage.
Workers sorted the salvage into metal, wood, and glass.
The yard sells salvage from damaged cars.
Only a little salvage remained after the warehouse fire.
The sculptor used industrial salvage in the installation.
Old doors and fixtures were kept as salvage during the renovation.
The auction listed the boat's salvage separately from the hull.
Similar words
scrap
reclaimed material
recovered goods
reusable material
remnants
parts
reclaimed stock
Reward for maritime rescue
noun
legal
technical
Compensation owed to someone who voluntarily and successfully saves a ship, cargo, or other maritime property from danger.
Examples
The court calculated salvage from the value of the recovered cargo.
The crew filed a claim for salvage after towing the vessel to port.
Maritime law allows salvage when property is saved from peril at sea.
The parties disputed the amount of salvage owed to the salvors.
A successful recovery can create a right to salvage.
The judge reduced the salvage award because the risk was limited.
Professional salvors often work under contracts that set salvage terms.
Similar words
award
reward
compensation
payment
salvage award
salvage claim
Etymology
From French and Middle French salvage, first used in English for payment for saving a ship from wreck or capture. It traces back through Old French salver to Latin salvare, meaning to make safe.
FAQ
What does salvage mean as a verb?
It means to save or recover something from danger, damage, destruction, or likely failure.
What does salvage mean as a noun?
It can mean a recovery operation, the property or material recovered, or a maritime reward for saving property at sea.
Is salvage the same as repair?
No. Repair fixes something, while salvage saves what can still be recovered from serious loss or damage.
Can salvage be figurative?
Yes. A reputation, project, season, or deal can be salvaged when enough value is saved from failure.
What is maritime salvage?
It is the work of saving a ship, cargo, or other maritime property from danger, often with a legal claim to reward.
What is salvage material?
It is recovered property, parts, or material that still has value, such as scrap metal, old fixtures, or vehicle parts.
What does salvage title mean?
It is a vehicle title brand showing that a vehicle was badly damaged or treated as uneconomical to repair under the relevant rules.
Comments & contributions
Know this word from another angle? Add a correction, a nuance, or a usage note. New posts go public after a quick review.
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Trusty Tapir
Jul 28
salvageable is a good adjective too. Ugly sofa, maybe salvageable. My old phone after sea water, not so much
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Rosy Pony
Jul 24
So if I say I salvaged dinner after burning half of it, that works? asking for me, yesterday
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Northern Egret
Jul 22
That Philippine usage is brutal, I had no idea the same spelling could go that far
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Quick Osprey
Jul 21
i hear this word and think Copart listings before ships, probably says too much about my browser history
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Curious Camel
Jul 18
With relationships, salvage sounds like you already lost a lot. Like, you might save a marriage, but salvage a friendship from the mess after the marriage is over.
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Chipper Horse
Jul 14
Architectural salvage does not always mean the building burned down or got wrecked. A lot of it is old doors, radiators, mantels, flooring etc pulled out before demolition or during a renovation.
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Witty Bunting
Jul 12
For cars, a salvage title is only half the story. After repairs some places brand it rebuilt or reconstructed, but the exact title words and inspection rules are different by state or province, so dont translate it as one fixed legal label.
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Scarlet Gull
Jul 10
In accounting, salvage value isnt the value of damaged junk. It is the estimated residual value of an asset at the end of its useful life, and it changes the depreciation math.
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Witty Yak
Jul 10
Firefighters use salvage in a very practical way: covering furniture, moving stock, keeping water off stuff after the flames are out. You see it paired as salvage and overhaul in fire service training.
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Mellow Hamster
Jul 6
Filipino English has a nasty extra meaning here. To say someone was salvaged can mean they were abducted or killed and the body was dumped. Very different from the normal save/recover sense, and not something you want to use casually in Manila.