in reserve
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Third, it was safer to have capital loaned out than in reserve, where it could be pillaged.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
Its combat fleet also includes Russian MiG-29s and Belarusian Sukhoi Su-27s, most of which are inoperative or in reserve.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Europe came into the crisis with large buffers: It has about 450 million barrels of oil and refined products in reserve, according to Société Générale.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
They were content to contain and deter Iran, keeping war in reserve if it really did try to get a nuclear weapon.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
“Oftentimes very convenient, no doubt, but never pleasing. There is safety in reserve, but no attraction. One cannot love a reserved person.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
