conserve
verb
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Definition of conserve
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to keep in a safe or sound state He conserved his inheritance. especially : to avoid wasteful or destructive use of conserve natural resources conserve our wildlife
2 : to preserve with sugar
3 : to maintain (a quantity) constant during a process of chemical, physical, or evolutionary change conserved DNA sequences
conserve
noun
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Definition of conserve (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for conserve
Synonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Verb
blow, dissipate, fritter (away), lavish, misspend, run through, squander, throw away, waste
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Examples of conserve in a Sentence
Verb
With so little rain, everyone had to conserve water. We need to conserve our natural resources. Don't run around too much—you need to conserve your strength.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
American presidents since the 1940s have primarily sought to conserve the post-World War II order. — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, "How Trump Plans to Change the World," 9 July 2018 Even worse, we are also wired to conserve energy—that is, be lazy—creating a metabolic double jeopardy. — Nick Heil, Outside Online, "Blame Your Junk Food Cravings on Your Unhealthy Brain," 3 July 2018 Vitamin A also makes swimwear from recycled nylon — and donates a portion of all profits to organizations that work to conserve the oceans. — Sarah Spellings, The Cut, "11 Stylish Swimsuits That Are Also Eco-Friendly," 18 June 2018 If that happens, Opportunity will notice there’s no light and start napping again to conserve power. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "NASA’s Opportunity rover is in a deep sleep on Mars — but there’s hope it will wake up again," 13 June 2018 James wouldn’t have to conserve energy out of worry for being his team’s only creator. — The Crossover Staff, SI.com, "What's LeBron's Best Option This Summer? Debating 10 Teams and One Crazy Idea," 5 June 2018 The magnon—the helium with all its spins aligned—has a non-zero spin associated with it, and this has to be conserved. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Magnetic helium makes superfluid time crystal," 2 June 2018 His club needs to conserve energy before next week’s all-or-nothing conference tournament. — Carter Karels, San Antonio Express-News, "With one series left, UTSA baseball gearing up for C-USA Tournament," 16 May 2018 Opponents are calling on the common council to vote down the idea, arguing that the city should be conserving water resources. — Don Stacom, Courant Community, "Burlington Says It Wants New Britain Watershed Land For Conservation, Not Housing," 10 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Doing so conserves resources (those not wasted on people who are not likely to respond or be in need of help). — Austin Frakt, New York Times, "It Saves Lives. It Can Save Money. So Why Aren’t We Spending More on Public Health?," 28 May 2018 The benefit of this method is that the thick mulch conserves soil moisture and smothers weeds. — Doug Hall, Good Housekeeping, "7 Ways To Grow Potatoes," 28 June 2016 His family had been manufacturing conserves since 1885 but with regular, unremarkable, dreadfully ordinary berries. — Zahra Pettican, Bon Appetit, "This Incredible Strawberry Jam Is Made with Rare, Extremely Tiny Strawberries," 25 Apr. 2018 Purple beets are a positive bummer, leaden slabs squirted with oily olive puree and huckleberry conserves without any dairy or acid to cut through the dense, beety fog. — Mike Sula, Chicago Reader, "With Marisol inside the MCA, Jason Hammel paints a new canvas," 13 Dec. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conserve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for conserve
conserve
noun
English Language Learners Definition of conserve
: a sweet food made by cooking pieces of fruit with sugar
See the full definition for conserve in the English Language Learners Dictionary
conserve
verb
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Kids Definition of conserve
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to prevent the waste of Close the window to conserve heat.
2 : to keep in a safe condition : save We must conserve our forests.
conserve
noun
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Kids Definition of conserve (Entry 2 of 2)
: a rich fruit preserve
conserve
noun
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Medical Definition of conserve
(Entry 1 of 2)
: an obsolete medicinal preparation made by mixing undried vegetable drugs with sufficient powdered sugar to form a soft mass — compare confection
conserve
transitive verb
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Medical Definition of conserve (Entry 2 of 2)
: to maintain (a quantity) constant during a process of chemical, physical, or evolutionary change a DNA sequence that has been conserved
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