preserve

1 of 2

verb

pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv How to pronounce preserve (audio)
preserved; preserving

transitive verb

1
: to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction : protect
2
a
: to keep alive, intact, or free from decay
b
3
a
: to keep or save from decomposition
b
: to can, pickle, or similarly prepare for future use
4
: to keep up and reserve for personal or special use

intransitive verb

1
: to make preserves
2
: to raise and protect game for purposes of sport
3
: to be able to be preserved (as by canning)
preservability noun
preservable adjective
preserver noun

preserve

2 of 2

noun

1
: fruit canned or made into jams or jellies or cooked whole or in large pieces in a syrup so as to keep its shape
often used in plural
2
: an area restricted for the protection and preservation of natural resources (such as animals or plants)
a game preserve for regulated hunting or fishing
nature preserves
3
: something regarded as reserved for certain persons

Examples of preserve in a Sentence

Verb The fossil was well preserved. These laws are intended to help preserve our natural resources. They are fighting to preserve their rights as citizens. The peaches are preserved in syrup. Salt can be used to preserve meat. Noun a jar of strawberry preserve Game preserves allow only carefully controlled hunting and fishing. The military was once an all-male preserve.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Lake Michigan sanctuary off Wisconsin's coast is home to dozens of shipwrecks that represent and preserve both a moment frozen in time and a window into the past, said Russ Green, superintendent of Wisconsin’s national marine sanctuary. Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2024 The valet also confirmed Mr. Trump’s penchant for tearing up documents and other material given to him, which by the law governing presidential records are supposed to be preserved. Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 As its inhabitants fled, their buildings burned and sunk into a riverbed, which would preserve their homes and belongings for millennia. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024 Some Indigenous activists hope the app will help preserve Brazil’s native languages, many of which are at risk of dying out. Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Mar. 2024 In late 2022, the Halls gave up on the idea of developing the vineyard, and worked out a deal to preserve the land through the county land trust. Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Collagen banking is a buzzy new term for a focus on different beauty techniques that aim to help replenish and preserve collagen stores. Jeanne Ballion, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2024 Native peoples across the U.S. have and continue to preserve connection and gardening through a rematriation and kinship of seed saving in community. Tamara Yakaboski, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2024 But epigenetics is a way of preserving that state of gene expression in a more permanent way. Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024
Noun
Dinosaur This remote community of ranchers in northwestern Colorado gets its name from the nearby Dinosaur National Monument, a 210,000-acre natural preserve on the border between Utah and Colorado. Amiee White Beazley, Travel + Leisure, 21 Mar. 2024 The birds are migrating to the Arctic to breed and this loon, which previously showed up at the preserve, may have gotten blown off course, Buzard said. Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024 The aviaries are placed near enough to one another on the preserve that the burrowing owls can hear each other vocalize. Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024 The fruit of the common fig is edible and can be eaten fresh, dried, baked, or cooked in preserves. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 19 Feb. 2024 In other words: the genocidal mind is not the preserve of cartoon monsters safely tucked away in history books. Hazlitt, 6 Mar. 2024 On a recent day, cars lined the preserve’s roads and overflowed a parking lot near the lake’s entrance. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Additionally, the center plans to collaborate with the Ho-Chunk Nation to increase land care practices that take into consideration the burial mounds within the preserve. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 Set inland, her (mostly contiguous) property extends over green hills into a forest preserve on the slopes of the Haleakala volcano. Phoebe Liu, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preserve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Medieval Latin praeservare, from Late Latin, to observe beforehand, from Latin prae- + servare to keep, guard, observe — more at conserve

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1698, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of preserve was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near preserve

Cite this Entry

“Preserve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preserve. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

preserve

1 of 2 verb
pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv How to pronounce preserve (audio)
preserved; preserving
1
: to keep or save from injury, loss, or ruin : protect
preserve the republic
2
: maintain sense 1, continue
preserve silence
3
: to prepare (as vegetables, fruits, or meats) to be kept for future use
preserver noun

preserve

2 of 2 noun
1
: fruit cooked in sugar or made into jams or jellies
strawberry preserves
2
: an area where natural resources (as fish, game, or trees) are protected

Medical Definition

preserve

transitive verb
pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv How to pronounce preserve (audio)
preserved; preserving
1
: to keep alive, intact, or free from decay
2
: to keep or save from decomposition

Legal Definition

preserve

transitive verb
pre·​serve pri-ˈzərv How to pronounce preserve (audio)
preserved; preserving
1
: to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction
expenses necessary to preserve the property
2
a
: to keep valid, intact, or in existence (as pending a proceeding)
the right of a trial by jury shall be preservedU.S. Constitution amend. VII
the dismissal of a chapter 7 case…reinstates certain transfers voided or preserved in the caseJ. H. Williamson
b
: to maintain for use or consideration at a later time especially by keeping a record of
deposed the witness to preserve her testimony
a party has the option of preserving the objection raisedJ. H. Friedenthal et al.
preservation noun

More from Merriam-Webster on preserve

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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