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
A trained art conservator, she is the unofficial archivist for our grade-school class.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Once the sari and the matching blue blouse reached the museum, textiles conservator Beth Knight watched YouTube videos to learn how to drape it on the mannequin.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 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
Eventually, the student sorters were joined by six local glass menders, a professional glass conservator, and two illustrators.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
This helps him identify specific techniques and important details that might have otherwise been overlooked—and avoid cultural missteps that might imperil conservation efforts by driving a wedge between locals and foreign conservators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
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
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
The conservators must each possess not less than 280 acres, the governor and bailiffs each 400 acres.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various
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