preserve

[ pri-zurv ]

/ prɪˈzɜrv /

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See synonyms for: preserve / preserved / preserves / preserving on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), pre·served, pre·serv·ing.

to keep alive or in existence; make lasting: to preserve our liberties as free citizens.

to keep safe from harm or injury; protect or spare.

to keep up; maintain: to preserve historical monuments.

to keep possession of; retain: to preserve one's composure.

to prepare (food or any perishable substance) so as to resist decomposition or fermentation.

to prepare (fruit, vegetables, etc.) by cooking with sugar, pickling, canning, or the like.

to maintain and reserve (game, fish, etc.) for continued survival or for private use, as in hunting or fishing.

verb (used without object), pre·served, pre·serv·ing.

to preserve fruit, vegetables, etc.; make preserves.

to maintain a preserve for game or fish, especially for sport.

noun

something that preserves.

that which is preserved.

Usually preserves. fruit, vegetables, etc., prepared by cooking with sugar.

a place set apart for protection and propagation of game or fish, especially for sport.

OTHER WORDS FOR preserve

1 conserve.

2 safeguard, shelter, shield.

3 continue, keep up, sustain.

See synonyms for preserve on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR preserve

1 destroy.

See antonyms for preserve on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of preserve

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English preserven, from Medieval Latin praeservāre “to guard” (Late Latin: “to observe”), equivalent to Latin prae- prefix meaning “before, prior to, in advance” (see pre-) + servāre “to watch over, keep, preserve, observe”

synonym study for preserve

2. See defend.

OTHER WORDS FROM preserve

pre·serv·a·ble, adjectivepre·serv·a·bil·i·ty

[pri-zur-vuh-bil-i-tee], /prɪˌzɜr vəˈbɪl ɪ ti/, nounpres·er·va·tion

[prez-er-vey-shuhn], /ˌprɛz ərˈveɪ ʃən/, nounpre·serv·er, noun

non·pre·serv·a·ble, adjectiveun·pre·serv·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby preserve

present tense, present value, preservation, preservationist, preservative, preserve, preserved, preset, preset board, preshave, preshrink

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use preserve in a sentence

He even went so far as trying, unsuccessfully, to turn a significant section of Southeast Alaska into a brown bear preserve.
Loggers could soon slice through one of the most important forests in the US|By Bjorn Dihle/ Outdoor Life|September 30, 2020|Popular-Science
The study of extreme market failures—shutdowns due to war, for example—has generally been the preserve of the former discipline, but the pandemic has forced the wider economics profession to switch focus.
Econ 3.0? What economists can contribute to (and learn from) the pandemic|Claire Beatty|September 28, 2020|MIT Technology Review
That’s the preserve of newer, more powerful types of software called neural networks, complex artificial intelligence programs designed to mimic the computational processes of the human brain.
How to make A.I. smarter|jonathanvanian2015|September 21, 2020|Fortune
Upcoming developments, however, aren’t only the preserve of the HR team.
‘It’s all been plan, plan, plan mode:’ Agencies have big ideas for greater diversity, but more action is needed|Seb Joseph|September 15, 2020|Digiday

Closed to the public for decades as a private ranch, the 880-acre nature preserve has 11 miles of quality multi-use singletrack that traverses woodlands and coastal ridgelines, allowing the adventure hungry to spread out into new terrain.
27 Epic Trips to Start Planning Now|The Editors|September 8, 2020|Outside Online
Or bold stands that may not preserve our security today or tomorrow, but keep our principles safely intact?
Should the U.S. Really Pay a Kim’s Ransom?|Kevin Bleyer|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These cases demonstrate how governments struggle to preserve historic sites.
For Rent: Priceless Historic Sites|Elinor Betesh|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Why do they sincerely try to restore, or preserve, the line between the two, and get heartbroken when the line fails?
A Reminder: Our Justices are Politicians in Robes|Jedediah Purdy|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was captioned Preserve Your Forests From Destruction And Protect Your Country From Floods And Drought.
The Magazine That Made—and Unmade—Politicians|Anthony Haden-Guest|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Advocates claimed that it helped to preserve virtue and to affirm the application of Sharia law.
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil|Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She is skilful in seizing salient characteristics, and her chief aim is to preserve the individuality of her sitters and models.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
If properly dried and pressed, it is possible to preserve the Fern fronds with a great deal of their natural colour.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
The new Government to preserve public order and check all reprisals against the Spaniards.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
To accept so much and still preserve one's self-respect would be impossible to ordinary men under ordinary circumstances.
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker
Those required to sustain life and preserve decency, besides other things to maintain her in her social condition.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles

British Dictionary definitions for preserve

preserve

/ (prɪˈzɜːv) /

verb (mainly tr)

to keep safe from danger or harm; protect

to protect from decay or dissolution; maintainto preserve old buildings

to maintain possession of; keep upto preserve a façade of indifference

to prevent from decomposition or chemical change

to prepare (food), as by freezing, drying, or salting, so that it will resist decomposition

to make preserves of (fruit, etc)

to rear and protect (game) in restricted places for hunting or fishing

(intr) to maintain protection and favourable conditions for game in preserves

noun

something that preserves or is preserved

a special area or domainarchaeology is the preserve of specialists

(usually plural) fruit, etc, prepared by cooking with sugar

areas where game is reared for private hunting or fishing

Derived forms of preserve

preservable, adjectivepreservability, nounpreservably, adverbpreservation (ˌprɛzəˈveɪʃən), noun

preserver, noun

Word Origin for preserve

C14: via Old French, from Late Latin praeservāre literally: to keep safe in advance, from Latin prae- before + servāre to keep safe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

preserve

OTHER WORDS FOR preserve

OPPOSITES FOR preserve

Origin of preserve

synonym study for preserve

OTHER WORDS FROM preserve

Words nearby preserve

Words related to preserve

How to use preserve in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for preserve

Derived forms of preserve

Word Origin for preserve