conservator
Americannoun
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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:
A trained art conservator, she is the unofficial archivist for our grade-school class.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
“In other instances, a court may opt for a limited conservatorship, in which the conservator manages only healthcare decisions or finances.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
A conservator uncovers the shard, which bears an intense blue figure of a skylark — evidence, at least to the reader, that Alouette’s recipe endured, and a symbol of how both she and Sasha escaped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 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
"I saw the experts working together, the conservators, the people who really know about the risks of moving the object," said Ricketts, who now sits in the UK's unelected upper chamber the House of Lords.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
The artwork will reportedly occupy a train of its own, emptied of everyone except conservators and guards, and a police escort will be provided on both sides of the Channel.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 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
Appropriately, “Unrolling Eternity” celebrates the ancient artists who created these magnificent “Books of the Dead” alongside the present-day conservators who have resurrected them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
The Great Charter of John was secured by the election of twenty-five barons as conservators of the compact.
From View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 by Hallam, Henry
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.
