reservation

[rez-er-vey-shuhn]

noun

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.

reservation

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• nonreservation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of reservation¹

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

Example Sentences

And demand failed to materialize, despite Tesla’s list of reservations for a vehicle meant to evoke the DeLorean made famous by “Back to the Future.”

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By the 1960s, reservation electronics plants recruited Native women for circuit-board work with the promise of “self-help” development.

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And demand failed to materialize, despite Tesla’s mooted list of reservations for a vehicle meant to evoke the DeLorean made famous by “Back to the Future.”

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You make a reservation and are seated at the first open booth.

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"I knew who I was. Knew my family history. At the same time, I recognized that I wasn't a good Indian. I hadn't been raised on a reserve/reservation. I didn't speak Cherokee," he wrote.

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Related Words

• doubt 
• restriction 
• skepticism