conserve

American  

[kuhn-surv, kon-surv, kuhn-surv] / kənˈsɜrv, ˈkɒn sɜrv, kənˈsɜrv /

verb (used with object)

conserves, present (3rd person singular) conserved, past participle, past conserving present participle

1. to prevent injury, decay, waste, or loss of.

   Conserve your strength for the race.

2. to use or manage (natural resources) wisely; preserve; save.

   Conserve the woodlands.

   Synonyms:

   safeguard, husband

3. Physics, Chemistry. to hold (a property) constant during an interaction or process.

   the interaction conserved linear momentum.

4. to preserve (fruit) by cooking with sugar or syrup.

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noun

conserves plural

1. Often conserves. a mixture of several fruits cooked to jamlike consistency with sugar and often garnished with nuts and raisins.

conserve British  

verb

1. to keep or protect from harm, decay, loss, etc

2. to preserve (a foodstuff, esp fruit) with sugar

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noun

1. a preparation of fruit in sugar, similar to jam but usually containing whole pieces of fruit

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• conserver
  noun
• conservable
  adjective
• nonconserving
  adjective
• self-conserving
  adjective
• unconserved
  adjective
• unconserving
  adjective
• well-conserved
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• conserves
  plural

Participles

• conserving
  present
• conserved
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• conserve
  simple
• conserves
  simple
• have conserved
  perfect
• has conserved
  perfect
• am conserving
  progressive
• are conserving
  progressive
• is conserving
  progressive
• have been conserving
  perfect progressive
• has been conserving
  perfect progressive

Past

• conserved
  simple
• had conserved
  perfect
• was conserving
  progressive
• were conserving
  progressive
• had been conserving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will conserve
  simple
• will have conserved
  perfect
• will be conserving
  progressive
• will have been conserving
  perfect progressive

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).

Example Sentences

One of those compounds was probenecid, a medication originally introduced in the 1940s to help conserve scarce supplies of penicillin by reducing how much of the antibiotic was excreted in urine.

From Science Daily • Jun. 17, 2026

Online sales were up more than 12% on an annual based, which could be related to Americans trying to stay home and conserve gasoline, noted Pantheon Macro.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 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

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also urged Indians to car pool, use public transport and work from home to conserve fuel.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

Also, she had to conserve her energy, though she did not mention this in any of her reports.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• hoard
• maintain
• preserve
• safeguard
• sustain
• take care of