reservation

American  

[rez-er-vey-shuhn] / ˌrɛz ərˈveɪ ʃən /

noun

reservations plural

1. the act of keeping back, withholding, or setting apart.

2. the act of making an exception or qualification.

3. an exception or qualification made expressly or tacitly.

   to accept something, but with inner reservations.

4. a tract of public land set apart for a special purpose, as for the use of an Indian tribe.

5. an arrangement to secure accommodations at a restaurant or hotel, on a boat or plane, etc.

6. the record kept or assurance given of such an arrangement.

   Sorry, the hotel has no reservation under that name.

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reservation British  

/ ˌrɛzəˈveɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of reserving

2. something reserved, esp hotel accommodation, a seat on an aeroplane, in a theatre, etc

3. (often plural) a stated or unstated qualification of opinion that prevents one's wholehearted acceptance of a proposal, claim, statement, etc

4. an area of land set aside, esp (in the US) for American Indian peoples

5. the strip of land between the two carriageways of a dual carriageway

6. the act or process of keeping back, esp for oneself; withholding

7. law a right or interest retained by the grantor in property granted, conveyed, leased, etc, to another

   a reservation of rent

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreservation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reservations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of reservation

1350–1400; Middle English reservacioun < Middle French reservation, equivalent to reserv ( er ) to reserve + -ation -ation

Explanation

A reservation is something set aside, like a table at a restaurant or land for Native Americans. For fancy restaurants and hotels, you need a reservation: you call ahead and ask them to set aside a table or room for you. A reservation is also a piece of land set aside by the government for a group. In the U.S., there are Native American reservations. Sometimes a reservation is a doubt. If you have reservations about taking a trip to Australia, then you're not sure about it. You're not rushing to make reservations at a hotel there.

Example Sentences

Ryanair has changed its family seating policy to allow parents to sit next to their young children without paying a seat reservation fee, after an investigation was opened.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026

The lesson is elementary: never disclose your reservation price.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026

The Delta rep complied after that but told me I had to wait to officially request the refund once I returned to New York and the entire flight reservation was complete.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 23, 2026

Another moment that I really like in the show is Odessa’s character, she wants to change a dinner reservation to five people at 8 o’clock.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

There was a white man named Philip Johnson who was the son of a white trader on the reservation and so he could speak “Trader Navajo.”

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

Related Words

• doubt
• restriction
• skepticism