preserve

American  

[pri-zurv] / prɪˈzɜrv /

verb (used with object)

• preserves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• preserved,
  past participle,  past
• preserving
  present participle

1. to keep alive or in existence; make lasting.

   to preserve our liberties as free citizens.

   Synonyms:

   conserve

   Antonyms:

   destroy

2. to keep safe from harm or injury; protect or spare.

   Synonyms:

   shield, shelter, safeguard

3. to keep up; maintain.

   to preserve historical monuments.

   Synonyms:

   sustain, keep up, continue

4. to keep possession of; retain.

   to preserve one's composure.

5. to prepare (food or any perishable substance) so as to resist decomposition or fermentation.

6. to prepare (fruit, vegetables, etc.) by cooking with sugar, pickling, canning, or the like.

7. to maintain and reserve (game, fish, etc.) for continued survival or for private use, as in hunting or fishing.

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verb (used without object)

• preserves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• preserved,
  past participle,  past
• preserving
  present participle

1. to preserve fruit, vegetables, etc.; make preserves.

2. to maintain a preserve for game or fish, especially for sport.

noun

• preserves
  plural

1. something that preserves.

2. that which is preserved.

3. Usually preserves. fruit, vegetables, etc., prepared by cooking with sugar.

4. a place set apart for protection and propagation of game or fish, especially for sport.

preserve British  

/ prɪˈzɜːv /

verb

1. to keep safe from danger or harm; protect

2. to protect from decay or dissolution; maintain

   to preserve old buildings

3. to maintain possession of; keep up

   to preserve a façade of indifference

4. to prevent from decomposition or chemical change

5. to prepare (food), as by freezing, drying, or salting, so that it will resist decomposition

6. to make preserves of (fruit, etc)

7. to rear and protect (game) in restricted places for hunting or fishing

8. (intr) to maintain protection and favourable conditions for game in preserves

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noun

1. something that preserves or is preserved

2. a special area or domain

   archaeology is the preserve of specialists

3. (usually plural) fruit, etc, prepared by cooking with sugar

4. areas where game is reared for private hunting or fishing

Synonym Usage

See defend.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preservability
  noun
• preservation
  noun
• preserver
  noun
• nonpreservable
  adjective
• preservable
  adjective
• unpreservable
  adjective
• preservably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• preserves
  plural

Participles

• preserving
  present
• preserved
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• preserve
  simple
• preserves
  simple
• have preserved
  perfect
• has preserved
  perfect
• am preserving
  progressive
• are preserving
  progressive
• is preserving
  progressive
• have been preserving
  perfect progressive
• has been preserving
  perfect progressive

Past

• preserved
  simple
• had preserved
  perfect
• was preserving
  progressive
• were preserving
  progressive
• had been preserving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will preserve
  simple
• will have preserved
  perfect
• will be preserving
  progressive
• will have been preserving
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of preserve

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English preserven, from Medieval Latin praeservāre “to guard” ( Late Latin: “to observe”), equivalent to Latin prae- prefix meaning “before, prior to, in advance” ( see pre-) + servāre “to watch over, keep, preserve, observe”

Explanation

When you preserve something, you maintain its condition, like trying to preserve your good health by exercising regularly and eating right. The verb preserve describes keeping something as it is now, without a decline in quality. It can also refer to keeping something safe from harm, as in “The group worked hard to preserve the regional ecosystem.” When you preserve food, such as fruit, you keep it from rotting. Jellies and jams are preserves, the noun form. A preserve can also be lands set aside, or preserved, as animal habitats.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

preserve preserves preserved preserving

Under the agreement, Dominion Energy Virginia will preserve its brand name, local leadership and regulatory oversight by the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Government departments told AFP they aim to integrate rural areas into the development project, but that Chan's ancestral houses were not culturally significant enough to preserve.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

Remains from the World Trade Center have been packaged and sealed to help preserve DNA for testing in the years to come.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Apple is walking a “tightrope on products to preserve volumes and margins,” according to JPMorgan analysts led by Samik Chatterjee.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Speaking of promises, a “sacred compact had been made when the nation was founded in 1787, compact which brought us together mutually to relinquish a share of our interests to preserve the remainder.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

"Equal Earth preserves the relative surface areas of continents and, as much as possible, shows their shapes as they appear on a globe," one of the cartographers, Bojan Savric, told AFP in 2025.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Instead he prefers a single reminder to all that preserves team unity.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

The researchers showed that their method preserves the same computational hardness criteria associated with RCS, meaning the problem remains extremely difficult for classical computers.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

I studied the pastries while pretending not to listen: tea-infused buns knotted with candied citrus, laminated pastry layered with spiced cream cheese, craggy oat muffins dotted with boysenberry preserves.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

His dad had taken the lock off when Benji was five because he'd barricaded himself in and painted the walls with organic blueberry preserves.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Less than 1% of what constituted the towers’ total steel was preserved, cataloged and eventually transported domestically and internationally as part of a program launched by the Port Authority in 2009.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Some of what I most want preserved about Sept. 11 is the shared grief of those first days and the ways ordinary people revealed their humanity under unimaginable circumstances.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

The deal will guarantee that at least 1,200 out of 1,800 jobs are preserved at the factory, VW's works council said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

They analyzed gravity satellite measurements, snow accumulation records preserved in ice cores, and simulations of atmospheric circulation.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

Foragers relied on dozens of species to survive, and could therefore weather difficult years even without stocks of preserved food.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Because existing therapies can have limitations and side effects, researchers are looking for new biological targets that could lead to more effective ways of preserving or rebuilding bone.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

It is not only about preserving their hopes of silverware in a season without European football, but Chelsea are also a club that need as many competitive fixtures as possible.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Rosales adores our pictures as much as we do, if not more, and “East of the River” confirms her boundless affection for the women whose likenesses and cultural contributions she’s devoted to preserving.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

“It reduces exposure to a more commodity-like business while preserving supply continuity through long-term commercial agreements,” Jarad says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

The predictable response is that civil rights advocates are as committed to challenging mass incarceration and other forms of structural racism as they are to preserving affirmative action.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• conserve
• defend
• freeze
• keep
• perpetuate
• protect
• retain
• safeguard
• save
• secure
• store
• sustain
• uphold