Meaning & use
rescue workers
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“rescue workers” is a form of “rescue worker”.
Meanings
nounplural
People whose job or voluntary task is to find and help people who are in danger or trapped.
Grammar: Plural form; takes a plural verb: rescue workers were searching.
Patterns
- rescue workers search for someone
- rescue workers arrived at something
Rescue workers searched the collapsed building through the night.
Rescue workers pulled the hikers off the mountain.
Hundreds of rescue workers arrived after the earthquake.
nounplural
Members of emergency teams or volunteer groups who help in disasters such as floods, fires or storms.
Grammar: Often appears with from or with a place or organization name.
Patterns
- rescue workers from somewhere
Rescue workers from three countries joined the effort.
Volunteer rescue workers handed out blankets to families.
The mayor thanked the rescue workers for their courage.
Word forms
| singular | rescue worker |
|---|
Common combinations
- rescue workers search
- Rescue workers search the rubble for survivors.
- emergency rescue workers
- Emergency rescue workers reached the village by boat.
- rescue workers pulled
- Rescue workers pulled the driver from the car.
- volunteer rescue workers
- Volunteer rescue workers helped after the flood.
- rescue workers said
- Rescue workers said the area was unstable.
Synonyms and how they differ
- first responders
- First responders includes police, paramedics and firefighters who reach an emergency first, a wider group than rescue workers.
- emergency crew
- Emergency crew is more general and can include medical teams as well as search teams.
- rescuers
- Rescuers is shorter and includes anyone who saves someone, even without a job as a rescue worker.
- paramedics
- Paramedics specifically give medical treatment, while rescue workers mainly find and free people.
Word family
Commonly confused: rescue workers or relief workers?
rescue workers vs relief workers
Relief workers deliver food, shelter and aid after a disaster, while rescue workers save people in immediate danger.
Practice
After the landslide, ____ spent the night searching for people trapped in the houses.
Choose one answer.
Rescue workers are the people who search for and free those in danger. The other groups do not do this job.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rescue workers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.