preserved

American  

[pri-zurvd] / prɪˈzɜrvd /

adjective

1. (of food or any perishable substance) prepared by canning, pickling, salting, or the like, or treated by some process to prevent decomposition or fermentation.

   I had never had such fresh-tasting preserved fruit before.

2. kept safe from harm or injury; protected or spared.

   This is a wonderfully preserved example of Mayan cave art.

3. kept up or maintained; kept in good condition or health.

   Tucked in Amsterdam’s inner city is a uniquely preserved 17th-century house from the Dutch Golden Age.

4. kept alive or in existence.

   When I take a portrait photograph, I’m capturing a moment in a life, making it a preserved memory.

5. (of game or fish, natural habitats, etc.) maintained or reserved for continued hunting or fishing, or for private or public use and appreciation.

   New walking trails will be built through the preserved areas of parkland.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of preserve.

Other Word Forms

• semipreserved adjective
• unpreserved adjective

Etymology

Origin of preserved

First recorded in 1550–60; preserve ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; preserve ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Scientists say ancient microbes, or traces of them, could be locked inside Martian ice deposits, preserved for tens of millions of years.

From Science Daily

There may even be traces of its final meal preserved within the remains.

From Science Daily

To him those relics are akin to looking at a collection of lifeless butterflies preserved in a box.

From Los Angeles Times

Nearby were partial skeletons of long necked dinosaurs preserved in river sediments, pointing to a forested inland environment crisscrossed by waterways.

From Science Daily

Studying genomes preserved in ice helps scientists trace how resistance emerged and spread long before modern medicine existed.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• covered
• guaranteed
• guarded
• secured
• sheltered