conserve
Americanverb (used with object)
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conserves,
present (3rd person singular)
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conserved,
past participle, past
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conserving
present participle
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to prevent injury, decay, waste, or loss of.
Conserve your strength for the race.
-
to use or manage (natural resources) wisely; preserve; save.
Conserve the woodlands.
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Physics, Chemistry. to hold (a property) constant during an interaction or process.
the interaction conserved linear momentum.
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to preserve (fruit) by cooking with sugar or syrup.
noun
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conserves
plural
verb
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to keep or protect from harm, decay, loss, etc
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to preserve (a foodstuff, esp fruit) with sugar
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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conservernoun
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conservableadjective
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nonconservingadjective
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self-conservingadjective
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unconservedadjective
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unconservingadjective
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well-conservedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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conservesimple
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conservessimple
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have conservedperfect
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has conservedperfect
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am conservingprogressive
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are conservingprogressive
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is conservingprogressive
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have been conservingperfect progressive
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has been conservingperfect progressive
Past
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conservedsimple
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had conservedperfect
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was conservingprogressive
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were conservingprogressive
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had been conservingperfect progressive
Future
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).
Vocabulary lists containing conserve
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Physical Science - Energy - Introductory
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Workshop 2, Part 1
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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:
The projects would have helped conserve the imperiled spiky succulents that draw millions of visitors to Joshua Tree each year and play a key role as a linchpin of the Mojave Desert ecosystem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Now, a new £1m scheme is aiming to restore and conserve more than 4,000 acres of habitats at Eryri, also known as Snowdonia.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
The waterway is set to reduce daily traffic from 36 to 32 ships a day in an effort to conserve water amid a severe drought likely to last until mid-2027.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
He tried to conserve energy and find momentum but he repeatedly got caught flat-footed by Navone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
He had noticed they’d gone to one torch when they met up with Ripred, apparently to conserve fuel.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
However, in line with international norms, citrus-based conserves will need to be distinguished as a separate type of product, and will have to be sold using the new legal name "citrus marmalade".
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
The biochar — which the city produces from trees blown down in storms or damaged by the emerald ash borer beetle — traps carbon, conserves water and improves the soil.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
The use of plastic in agriculture undeniably conserves important resources.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2023
In contrast, reducing waste generation conserves natural resources and avoids other negative environmental impacts throughout a product's life.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2023
The program reduces pollution and conserves natural resources.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
The team found that caffeine appears to affect aging by tapping into a deeply conserved energy sensing system.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
“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
After major credit-ratings firms downgraded Whirlpool’s debt to junk status, it raised money by selling new shares, and conserved money by suspending the dividend it had paid for 70 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
If properly conserved, they can last for hundreds of years.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Gradually, he began to discern patterns in the data—unanticipated constancies, conserved ratios, numerical rhythms.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A recent survey by Susquehanna Polling and Research found that 77 percent of likely voters believe that "conserving national forests and other roadless lands for current and future generations" is paramount.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The results suggest that gluons, the particles that act as the glue holding quarks together, may play a key role in carrying and conserving baryon number.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Neither study questions the value of protected areas for conserving biodiversity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Monday's nationwide outage was the third this year and comes on top of state-imposed rolling electricity cuts aimed at conserving the little remaining fuel.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Pete, Otis, unload the hay burners and get them watered, will you? Use the stream instead of troughs. We’re conserving water.”
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
