conservator
Americannoun
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conservators
plural
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a person who repairs, restores, or maintains the condition of objects, as paintings or sculptures in an art museum, or books in a library.
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Law. a guardian; a custodian.
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British. a person employed by a conservancy commission; a conservation worker.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of conservator
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin, equivalent to conservā(re) “to keep safe; preserve” + -tor agent suffix; see conserve -tor
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:
“You’ll often read articles about conservation or about art that has been conserved and the name of the conservator is never mentioned.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Traces of Guler's lifelong devotion to cinema can even be found in his teenage diaries from the late 1940s and 1950s, according to Temel Yilmaz, conservator and archive researcher.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
To apply to be a conservator, you need to file a petition with the probate court in the county where he lives.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
Lesley Stevenson, senior conservator of paintings at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, is among several experts who have since confirmed the Raeburn attribution.
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026
Eventually, the student sorters were joined by six local glass menders, a professional glass conservator, and two illustrators.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Artists and conservators watched nervously as the delicate, 11th-century artwork was transported by truck in a risky operation from its home in northern France to the British capital.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
We got a glimpse of one of those women as the conservators working on the tapestry lifted up a section of the cover that is on it now to protect it from the light.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Once in London, the tapestry will be displayed flat, for the first time, in a specially made glass case in a "choreography with I think 80 different conservators -- intensely careful, difficult work".
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
For instance, if you do a new museum, the conservators say art can be exposed to less daylight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
By their law the roads were for the public use and convenience, and their emperors, consuls, and other public officials were their conservators.
From The Road and the Roadside by Burton Willis Potter
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.
