reservation

American  

[rez-er-vey-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

Etymology

Origin of reservation

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

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

The company says slot reservation agreements grew to 116 gigawatts from 100 gigawatts, and are now on track to hit 125 gigawatts by the end of the year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Environmental and park advocates argued for the reservation system, saying that it not only protected the wildlife and land, but also that it was popular among guests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

The National Park Service announced in February — after the agency under the Biden administration studied extensively how to best implement a reservation system — that officials would instead use “targeted management.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

So as the season begins, The Bear is long on stress, short on food, the plumbing is kaput, the reservation line has stopped working and then started again and the place is impossibly overbooked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

“Well,” she says, “I’m a Penobscot Indian on my father’s side. When I was young, we lived on a reservation near Old Town.”

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

A peek into the future of restaurant reservations: If you’re making plans for a fancy dinner this weekend, take note: A big “upgrade” is coming to your favorite restaurants—to diners’ detriment.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

When he was made redundant he wanted to use the opportunity to create his own business in something he genuinely enjoyed - but Hannah had reservations.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

India’s slower trajectory owes at least as much to bureaucratic drag, corruption and the absence of sustained central planning around core technologies as to reservations, as India’s quotas are called.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The park service planned to use visitor feedback and research to guide how reservations would be rolled out in 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Gonzalez had his reservations to Florida and Arizona in order.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Related Words

• doubt
• restriction
• skepticism