preserved; preserving
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
1
: to make preserves
2
: to raise and protect game for purposes of sport
3
: to be able to be preserved (as by canning)
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
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
Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
These included the 1999-2002 Coconino County Courthouse additions and remodel, preserving the original 1894 structure, as well as the Health and Human Services Building at King Street.
—Abigail Celaya, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
Couldn't file for the kids yet because the State still has their legal custody, but filed in an effort to preserve Hildebrandt's wealth and assets until appropriate action can be taken to make the kids whole.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
The plaintiffs argued that the city violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment when commissioners fixated on preserving the ethnic makeup of the commission by using racial quotas to draw the voting map, packing Hispanic and Black voters into districts.
—Joey Flechas, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
His letters to the women, preserved in both his papers and Claude-Anne Lopez’s Mon Cher Papa: Franklin and the Ladies of Paris, helped inspire their portrayals in the limited series.
—Vanessa Armstrong, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Elsewhere on the surface level, Maximus (Aaron Moten) is finding his way as a lowly soldier in the Brotherhood of the Steel – an Army-type organization committed to bettering the wasteland by collecting and preserving technology.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
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
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
Verb
And with the increasing threat of climate change, arborists, researchers, conservationists and others say that they must be protected and preserved – even, perhaps, through cloning.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
These included the 1999-2002 Coconino County Courthouse additions and remodel, preserving the original 1894 structure, as well as the Health and Human Services Building at King Street.
—Abigail Celaya, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
Couldn't file for the kids yet because the State still has their legal custody, but filed in an effort to preserve Hildebrandt's wealth and assets until appropriate action can be taken to make the kids whole.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
The plaintiffs argued that the city violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment when commissioners fixated on preserving the ethnic makeup of the commission by using racial quotas to draw the voting map, packing Hispanic and Black voters into districts.
—Joey Flechas, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
His letters to the women, preserved in both his papers and Claude-Anne Lopez’s Mon Cher Papa: Franklin and the Ladies of Paris, helped inspire their portrayals in the limited series.
—Vanessa Armstrong, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Elsewhere on the surface level, Maximus (Aaron Moten) is finding his way as a lowly soldier in the Brotherhood of the Steel – an Army-type organization committed to bettering the wasteland by collecting and preserving technology.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
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
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preserve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to preserve
Dictionary Entries Near preserve
Cite this Entry
“Preserve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preserve. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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 noun1
: 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
U.S. Constitution amend. VIIthe dismissal of a chapter 7 case…reinstates certain transfers voided or preserved in the case—J. H. Williamson
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.
J. H. Friedenthal et al.Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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