preserved
Americanadjective
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(of food or any perishable substance) prepared by canning, pickling, salting, or the like, or treated by some process to prevent decomposition or fermentation.
I had never had such fresh-tasting preserved fruit before.
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kept safe from harm or injury; protected or spared.
This is a wonderfully preserved example of Mayan cave art.
-
kept up or maintained; kept in good condition or health.
Tucked in Amsterdam’s inner city is a uniquely preserved 17th-century house from the Dutch Golden Age.
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kept alive or in existence.
When I take a portrait photograph, I’m capturing a moment in a life, making it a preserved memory.
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(of game or fish, natural habitats, etc.) maintained or reserved for continued hunting or fishing, or for private or public use and appreciation.
New walking trails will be built through the preserved areas of parkland.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of preserved
First recorded in 1550–60; preserve ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; preserve ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
Explanation
Something that's preserved is kept in its original state or kept alive and fresh. Preserved artifacts are protected from damage, often in a museum where they can be kept safe. Preserved food is treated in some way that makes it spoil much more slowly than it would otherwise. Sometimes this is done by adding chemical preservatives, and other times it's a more natural process, involving drying, pickling, salting, or canning. Preserved fruit, cooked with sugar and sealed in jars, is also called preserves. These words all stem from the Medieval Latin preservare, "keep safe."
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.
Preserved in nearly perfect three-dimensional detail, the skeleton includes a skull with a huge eye socket and an elongated, sword-like snout.
From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026
Preserved in formaldehyde and paraffin wax, they come from patients treated at the UK's national bowel hospital, St Mark's, in northwest London.
From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026
Appeared in the October 23, 2025, print edition as 'My Journal Preserved My Dad’s Last Days'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025
Yes, the Sweet Potato Roll with Fried Chesapeake Catfish, Preserved Ramp tarter is a longtime favorite and is still available.
From Salon • Jul. 16, 2024
Preserved for me alone, much as Manderley was preserved for my neighbour.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
