reservation

[rez-er-vey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of keeping back, withholding, or setting apart.

2. the act of making an exception or qualification.

3. an exception or qualification made expressly or tacitly.

   to accept something, but with inner reservations.

4. a tract of public land set apart for a special purpose, as for the use of an Indian tribe.

5. an arrangement to secure accommodations at a restaurant or hotel, on a boat or plane, etc.

6. the record kept or assurance given of such an arrangement.

   Sorry, the hotel has no reservation under that name.

reservation

/ ˌrɛzəˈveɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of reserving

2. something reserved, esp hotel accommodation, a seat on an aeroplane, in a theatre, etc

3. (often plural) a stated or unstated qualification of opinion that prevents one's wholehearted acceptance of a proposal, claim, statement, etc

4. an area of land set aside, esp (in the US) for American Indian peoples

5. the strip of land between the two carriageways of a dual carriageway

6. the act or process of keeping back, esp for oneself; withholding

7. law a right or interest retained by the grantor in property granted, conveyed, leased, etc, to another

   a reservation of rent

Other Word Forms

• nonreservation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of reservation¹

1350–1400; Middle English reservacioun < Middle French reservation, equivalent to reserv ( er ) to reserve + -ation -ation

Example Sentences

Before, it had required customers to pay when they made their reservations.

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One person described showing up an hour early for a dining reservation to see how his colleagues would react.

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MPs on that committee voiced their reservations about whether he was qualified for the job when he was appointed as chair last year.

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Senior Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have recently expressed reservations about delivering another rate cut in December.

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Another sceptical Labour MP, Brian Leishman, told me he had "big reservations" about the proposals, and cautioned ministers against "trying to copy Farage and Reform who only want to demonise people".

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Related Words

• doubt 
• restriction 
• skepticism