preserve

1 of 2

verb

pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv 

preserved; preserving

transitive verb

1

: to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction : protect

2

a

: to keep alive, intact, or free from decay

b

: maintain

3

a

: to keep or save from decomposition

b

: to can, pickle, or similarly prepare for future use

4

: to keep up and reserve for personal or special use

intransitive verb

1

: to make preserves

2

: to raise and protect game for purposes of sport

3

: to be able to be preserved (as by canning)

preservability

pri-ˌzər-və-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

preservable

pri-ˈzər-və-bəl 

adjective

preserver

pri-ˈzər-vər 

noun

preserve

2 of 2

noun

1

: fruit canned or made into jams or jellies or cooked whole or in large pieces in a syrup so as to keep its shape

—often used in plural

2

: an area restricted for the protection and preservation of natural resources (such as animals or plants)

a game preserve for regulated hunting or fishing

nature preserves

3

: something regarded as reserved for certain persons

Synonyms

Verb

• conserve
• keep up
• maintain
• save

Examples of preserve in a Sentence

Verb

The fossil was well preserved.

These laws are intended to help preserve our natural resources.

They are fighting to preserve their rights as citizens.

The peaches are preserved in syrup.

Salt can be used to preserve meat.

Noun

a jar of strawberry preserve

Game preserves allow only carefully controlled hunting and fishing.

The military was once an all-male preserve.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

California Historic Sportsmen’s Lodge hotel may be demolished for 520-unit apartment complex April 3, 2024 Some opponents argued that the hotel should be preserved. —Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024

Related article Colorful paintings of daily life uncovered in 4,300-year-old Egyptian tomb The pages are preserved behind plexiglass, kept in two lockable wooden boxes. —Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024

The organ owed its vitality to this machine, which was preserving it for transplantation into a needy patient. —Ted Alcorn, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024

Check out how to preserve your wedding bouquet ahead. —Shelby Wax, Vogue, 1 Apr. 2024

Francis, 87, had skipped a Good Friday ceremony to preserve his health. —Phoebe Natanson, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2024

Particularly through the lens of your work preserving and promoting Latino/Chicano/Mexican/Indigenous art and culture? —Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2024

All parking on the site, including for the villas, is underground, to keep cars cool and preserve the views. —The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 2024

The original bricks were destroyed, Daum said, but their messages were preserved. —Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2024

Noun

Consequently, it was intensely logged from the beginning of the 1900s, when Malawi was a British colony known as Nyasaland, straight through to the country’s independence in 1964, despite the Mulanje Mountains being described as a forest preserve as early as 1927. —Mark Jenkins, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024

In Venezuela, roughly 400 firefighters fought a major blaze over the Easter holiday weekend that is threatening the lush Henri Pittier National Park, a beachfront preserve with rare cloud forests, according to the national park service. —CNN, 2 Apr. 2024

The archaeological preserve is in Coolidge, a city between Phoenix and Tucson. —Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 29 Mar. 2024

Established back in 1933, this storied preserve boasts more than 800 hectares of pristine Lone Star State wilderness, with vast swathes of loblolly pine forest and lengthy hiking trails snaking across the area. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Indigenous Eyes is the exception, as this preserve is situated inside the Puntacana Resort and Club. —Mya Guarnieri, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2024

Continuing efforts at the preserve aim to restore the longleaf pine’s presence. —Ryan Ballogg, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024

Dinosaur This remote community of ranchers in northwestern Colorado gets its name from the nearby Dinosaur National Monument, a 210,000-acre natural preserve on the border between Utah and Colorado. —Amiee White Beazley, Travel + Leisure, 21 Mar. 2024

The birds are migrating to the Arctic to breed and this loon, which previously showed up at the preserve, may have gotten blown off course, Buzard said. —Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Medieval Latin praeservare, from Late Latin, to observe beforehand, from Latin prae- + servare to keep, guard, observe — more at conserve

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1698, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing preserve

• game preserve
• preserve the planet
• nature preserve

Kids Definition

preserve

1 of 2 verb

pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv 

preserved; preserving

1

: to keep or save from injury, loss, or ruin : protect

preserve the republic

2

: maintain sense 1, continue

preserve silence

3

: to prepare (as vegetables, fruits, or meats) to be kept for future use

preserver noun

preserve

2 of 2 noun

1

: fruit cooked in sugar or made into jams or jellies

strawberry preserves

2

: an area where natural resources (as fish, game, or trees) are protected

Medical Definition

preserve

transitive verb

pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv 

preserved; preserving

1

: to keep alive, intact, or free from decay

2

: to keep or save from decomposition

Legal Definition

preserve

transitive verb

pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv 

preserved; preserving

1

: to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction

expenses necessary to preserve the property

2

a

: to keep valid, intact, or in existence (as pending a proceeding)

the right of a trial by jury shall be preserved

—U.S. Constitution amend. VII

the dismissal of a chapter 7 case…reinstates certain transfers voided or preserved in the case

—J. H. Williamson

b

: to maintain for use or consideration at a later time especially by keeping a record of

deposed the witness to preserve her testimony

a party has the option of preserving the objection raised

—J. H. Friedenthal et al.

preservation

ˌpre-zər-ˈvā-shən 

noun