Definition of preservation
: the act, process, or result of preserving something: such as
a
: the activity or process of keeping something valued alive, intact, or free from damage or decay
- preservation of state parks/monuments
- preservation of an old tradition
- The special emphasis of recent years on preservation continued in 1988. More than 8,000 brittle volumes (1.5 million pages) were committed to microfilm; an additional 777 rare books, manuscripts, and historical films received special conservation treatment.
- —Library and Book Trade Almanac
- These and so many lesser red flags seem finally to be shifting public interest toward the preservation of wildlife and natural habitats.
- —E. Annie Proulx
b
: the preparation of food for future use (as by canning, pickling, or freezing) to prevent spoilage
- the use of salt in the preservation of meat
- In the years following the first Earth Day in 1970, a contingent of Americans insisted on developing pesticide-free systems of farming and anti-chemical methods of food preservation and preparation.
- —Tibbett L. Speer
