conserve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to prevent injury, decay, waste, or loss of.
Conserve your strength for the race.
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to use or manage (natural resources) wisely; preserve; save.
Conserve the woodlands.
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Physics, Chemistry. to hold (a property) constant during an interaction or process.
the interaction conserved linear momentum.
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to preserve (fruit) by cooking with sugar or syrup.
noun
verb
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to keep or protect from harm, decay, loss, etc
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to preserve (a foodstuff, esp fruit) with sugar
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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conservernoun
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conservableadjective
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nonconservingadjective
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self-conservingadjective
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unconservedadjective
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unconservingadjective
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well-conservedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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conservesimple
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conservessimple
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have conservedperfect
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has conservedperfect
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am conservingprogressive
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are conservingprogressive
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is conservingprogressive
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have been conservingperfect progressive
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has been conservingperfect progressive
Past
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conservedsimple
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had conservedperfect
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was conservingprogressive
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were conservingprogressive
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had been conservingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of conserve
First recorded in 1325–75; (for the verb) Middle English, from Latin conservāre “to save, preserve”; equivalent to con- + serve; (for the noun) Middle English, from Middle French conserve, noun derivative of conserver, from Latin, as above
Explanation
To conserve is to save or protect something, like money, or your energy on a long run. People are also encouraged to conserve energy by turning off lights and not cranking the air conditioner. Conserve is from the Latin for "to keep, preserve, guard" (conservare). Con means "together," so "together" we can "serve" the planet by not doing doughnuts in the wetlands on our jet skis. You can conserve the planet or a little something for yourself — you might conserve hot water so you can wash your hair later, or try to conserve your old bedroom when you go off to college (and your mom is ready for a home office).
Vocabulary lists containing conserve
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Physical Science - Energy - Introductory
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Workshop 2, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Of course, within those strictures, conservatives may refine and advance as well as conserve, as Mr. Alexander’s score card attests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
DST, which also helped conserve fuel during the first world war, was unpopular with farmers and was repealed after the war.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
To conserve these leopards, their habitats need to be connected so that they can move around unrestricted and safe from persecution.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
If all goes according to plan, the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust will conserve the roughly 63 acres, with the possibility of transferring it to the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
I chipped it off with the pick of my ice ax, then asked Andy to return the favor by turning off my regulator in order to conserve my gas until the Step cleared.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
The harbour is leased from East Lothian Council and managed by the volunteer-run North Berwick Harbour Trust charity, which maintains and conserves the site.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2023
The biochar — which the city produces from trees blown down in storms or damaged by the emerald ash borer beetle — traps carbon, conserves water and improves the soil.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
The use of plastic in agriculture undeniably conserves important resources.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2023
In contrast, reducing waste generation conserves natural resources and avoids other negative environmental impacts throughout a product's life.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2023
The program reduces pollution and conserves natural resources.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
If properly conserved, they can last for hundreds of years.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
It raised the height of a dam to double its storage, built the desalination plant and acquired rights to a trove of conserved Colorado River water from a desert farming district.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
"Over a century later, it is emerging as an elegantly conserved mechanism at the heart of mitochondrial biology. This biophysical process offers a simple and energy efficient means to distribute the mitochondrial genome."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 13, 2026
Abroad, though, interest rates and inflation risks have shot up, fuel is being conserved, and economic forecasts are darkening.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
He proposed that every feature in a human—height, weight, intelligence, beauty—was a composite function generated by a conserved pattern of ancestral inheritance.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Trust said the award shows the county's importance in conserving endanged wildlife.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
By conserving these leopards, we are not only saving an iconic predator, but also preserving an evolutionary legacy shaped over thousands of years by one of the most distinctive landscapes on the African continent.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
Jackie and Shadow became internet sensations thanks to the live webcams maintained in their nest by nonprofit organization Friends of Big Bear Valley, which is an outspoken voice for conserving eagle habitat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
For example, in the early 1990s, he and his colleagues examined standard recommendations for conserving reed beds—important habitats for birds that become overgrown with trees over time.
From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026
So she learned ways of conserving bits of seconds.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
