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con·serve | \ kən-ˈsərv 
\
\conserved; conserving
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
nouncon·serve | \ ˈkän-ˌsərv \
\Definition of conserve (Entry 2 of 2)
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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.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb To conserve and rehabilitate the species, scientists are keeping close tabs on wild populations, many of which are in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Namibia.
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Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, "Baby Black Rhino Born at Michigan Zoo on Christmas Eve," 27 Dec. 2019 Fish populations are declining around the world, and many countries are trying to conserve them by regulating their fishing industries.
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James Rising, The Conversation, "Fish larvae float across national borders, binding the world’s oceans in a single network," 18 Sep. 2019 It’s apparently not about healing him, but conserving him.
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Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, "Column: Todd Gurley’s new normal is a reduced workload. Should Rams fans be concerned?," 15 Sep. 2019 After chub numbers dropped precipitously to about 2,100 individuals in the 1990s, the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, a consortium of 14 government and private entities, created a new plan to conserve and revitalize the fish.
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Debra Utacia Krol, azcentral, "Agency proposes to downlist humpback chub on the Colorado River, citing recovery efforts," 22 Jan. 2020 The office aims to enforce laws that conserve and protect marine animals and their natural habitats.
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Sophie Lewis, CBS News, "Rescued sea lion named Mandalorian euthanized after being shot twice with a pellet gun," 8 Jan. 2020 Without new funding, Portland will never be able to conserve and develop a healthy, safe parks system or to close the inequities around access.
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oregonlive, "Portland Commissioner Nick Fish to resign," 31 Dec. 2019 Executives figure that that approach would conserve cash and be less likely to trigger widespread layoffs than imposing another factory slowdown.
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Julie Johnsson, Fortune, "Boeing May Temporarily Stop Production of the 737 Max," 16 Dec. 2019 The infrastructure that diamonds provide to Botswana’s economy allows for such programs as the national ecotourism strategy aimed at conserving Botswana’s natural resources and wildlife.
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Micaela Erlanger, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Hollywood Stylist Traveled to Africa to See How Diamonds Are Recovered Firsthand," 12 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Visitors will learn about the diversity of California’s native flora and how its use in urban landscapes reduces pesticides, conserves water and transforms spaces into thriving habitats.
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La Cañada Valley Sun, "La Cañada area events: Oktoberfest celebrations, ‘Carved’ at Descanso, Book & Author luncheon and more," 1 Oct. 2019 In the 21st century, progressive design conserves financial and natural resources and honors its physical and cultural context.
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Los Angeles Times, "Calendar letters to the editor: Young Latinx musicians are carrying on a tradition," 30 Aug. 2019 This model is how our society values, restores, and conserves wildlife through noncommercial, legitimate hunting activities and scientific game management.
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Anchorage Daily News, "Women have always been hunters, and hunting has nothing to do with gender," 6 Aug. 2019 Mulch also suppresses weeds and conserves soil moisture.
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Washington Post, "Heavy rains can damage a vegetable garden — but the gardener can protect it," 24 July 2019 Doing so conserves resources (those not wasted on people who are not likely to respond or be in need of help).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mike Sula, Chicago Reader, "With Marisol inside the MCA, Jason Hammel paints a new canvas," 13 Dec. 2017
See MoreThese 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
nounEnglish 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
verbcon·serve | \ kən-ˈsərv \
\conserved; conserving
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
nouncon·serve | \ ˈkän-ˌsərv \
\Kids Definition of conserve (Entry 2 of 2)
: a rich fruit preserve
conserve
nouncon·serve | \ ˈkän-ˌsərv \
\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 verbcon·serve | \ kən-ˈsərv \
\conserved; conserving
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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Time Traveler for conserve
The first known use of conserve was in the 14th century
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