reservation

American  

[rez-er-vay-shuhn] / ˌrɛz ərˈveɪ ʃən /

noun

• reservations
  plural

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.

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reservation British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreservation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reservations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of reservation

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

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Explanation

A reservation is something set aside, like a table at a restaurant or land for Native Americans. For fancy restaurants and hotels, you need a reservation: you call ahead and ask them to set aside a table or room for you. A reservation is also a piece of land set aside by the government for a group. In the U.S., there are Native American reservations. Sometimes a reservation is a doubt. If you have reservations about taking a trip to Australia, then you're not sure about it. You're not rushing to make reservations at a hotel there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reservation reservations

Roberts posted a photo of a Roadster reservation confirmation email, dated Nov. 30, 2017.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

"I deeply regret it and offer my heartfelt apologies without reservation."

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and a rival of Musk’s, said last year that he had tried to cancel his reservation after putting down a $50,000 deposit in 2018.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

“What I would want to caution people against is thinking that the thirst or the engagement is the end — that’s been my reservation with it,” she said.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

My parents would linger, inquire after Kareem’s parents, demand that we stay and chat over a cup of chai while insisting that the restaurant would hold our reservation.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Several people have asked Tesla to refund their years-old reservations, including OpenAI CEO and Musk rival Sam Altman.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

My main concern: The one complication is that I have some reservations about the long-term stability of my younger son’s marriage.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Advance reservations for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center can be made beginning Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Agentic software can autonomously perform specific tasks such as coding, research, shopping, booking reservations or shopping.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

You may feel perfectly satisfied with your pages as they stand, or our reservations may fill you with dismissive anger, or such despair you never want to look at the thing again.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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Related Words

• doubt
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