preserve
Americanverb (used with object)
-
preserves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
preserved,
past participle, past
-
preserving
present participle
-
to keep alive or in existence; make lasting.
to preserve our liberties as free citizens.
- Synonyms:
- conserve
- Antonyms:
- destroy
-
to keep safe from harm or injury; protect or spare.
-
to keep up; maintain.
to preserve historical monuments.
-
to keep possession of; retain.
to preserve one's composure.
-
to prepare (food or any perishable substance) so as to resist decomposition or fermentation.
-
to prepare (fruit, vegetables, etc.) by cooking with sugar, pickling, canning, or the like.
-
to maintain and reserve (game, fish, etc.) for continued survival or for private use, as in hunting or fishing.
verb (used without object)
-
preserves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
preserved,
past participle, past
-
preserving
present participle
-
to preserve fruit, vegetables, etc.; make preserves.
-
to maintain a preserve for game or fish, especially for sport.
noun
-
preserves
plural
-
something that preserves.
-
that which is preserved.
-
Usually preserves. fruit, vegetables, etc., prepared by cooking with sugar.
-
a place set apart for protection and propagation of game or fish, especially for sport.
verb
-
to keep safe from danger or harm; protect
-
to protect from decay or dissolution; maintain
to preserve old buildings
-
to maintain possession of; keep up
to preserve a façade of indifference
-
to prevent from decomposition or chemical change
-
to prepare (food), as by freezing, drying, or salting, so that it will resist decomposition
-
to make preserves of (fruit, etc)
-
to rear and protect (game) in restricted places for hunting or fishing
-
(intr) to maintain protection and favourable conditions for game in preserves
noun
-
something that preserves or is preserved
-
a special area or domain
archaeology is the preserve of specialists
-
(usually plural) fruit, etc, prepared by cooking with sugar
-
areas where game is reared for private hunting or fishing
Synonym Usage
See defend.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
preservabilitynoun
-
preservationnoun
-
preservernoun
-
nonpreservableadjective
-
preservableadjective
-
unpreservableadjective
-
preservablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
preservesimple
-
preservessimple
-
have preservedperfect
-
has preservedperfect
-
am preservingprogressive
-
are preservingprogressive
-
is preservingprogressive
-
have been preservingperfect progressive
-
has been preservingperfect progressive
Past
-
preservedsimple
-
had preservedperfect
-
was preservingprogressive
-
were preservingprogressive
-
had been preservingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing preserve
The Bill of Rights
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
These galaxies have undergone relatively little chemical evolution, making them valuable cosmic "time capsules" that preserve clues about the Universe's early composition.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
"We will carry out development across all parts of Tigray. Until a regular administration is established through elections, our people should preserve their unity and institutions," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
According to People, Love and his wife, Jacquelyne Piesen, arranged for 6 acres surrounding their Incline Village property to be protected from development, helping preserve the towering pine trees and wildlife that characterize the area.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
The mitigation strategy recommendations included "maintaining the woodland as a suitable flight corridor and foraging area", to preserve part of the woodland as a "dark area for bats".
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
“You have your reward for the services you rendered. You have emerged from confinement. Eviction from this preserve is the consequence of prior indiscretions.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
“Deferral preserves financing flexibility, although schedule slippage, capital escalation and higher operating costs erode net present value,” Jefferies says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Use of the market path accomplishes at least two things that are important to Warsh: It preserves market signals and it gets the Fed out of forward interest-rate guidance.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
When that much is going out, it feels especially good to do something small that preserves a little energy for me.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
It preserves the merger rather than blocking consolidation, while relying on monitoring, production requirements and penalties to limit its consequences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
I hang up and sit for a while in the pantry, staring at the jars of fig preserves Constantine put up before the fig tree died.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
His sentences are quoted in classrooms, cited in essays and preserved in a presidential library.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The team also analyzed chemical signatures preserved in the animals' bones and teeth.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
By comparing specimens preserved over many years, researchers were able to answer a fundamental question that would have been difficult to investigate through fieldwork alone.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The oldest known shipwreck where some of the wood is still preserved was found in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Ben’s rage had fled and it angered Ben that he had no camel hump of spirit where rage could be stored, preserved, and called upon whenever it was needed.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
The couple have been passionate about preserving the natural environment around their home, having worked with local organizations to support efforts to maintain the lake’s water quality.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
Our reporters pull back the curtain on that decision, revealing the delicate balance between standing up to Washington and preserving its support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Joseva Kunagado, 21, leads the youth of Naidiri Village in preserving the health of their protected area.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Rather than quickly maturing into other cell types, the progenitors continued multiplying while preserving their identity and their capacity to generate functional immune cells.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Farmer seemed to care less about the notion that someone should be considered innocent until proven guilty than about preserving a thin-edged calm in a jittery country.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
