Definitions for preserve
prɪˈzɜrvpre·serve

Princeton's WordNet(3.33 / 9 votes)Rate this definition:

1. preservenoun

   a domain that seems to be specially reserved for someone

   "medicine is no longer a male preserve"

2. preservenoun

   a reservation where animals are protected

3. conserve, preserve, conserves, preservesverb

   fruit preserved by cooking with sugar

4. continue, uphold, carry on, bear on, preserveverb

   keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last

   "preserve the peace in the family"; "continue the family tradition"; "Carry on the old traditions"

5. conserve, preserve, maintain, keep upverb

   keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction

   "We preserve these archeological findings"; "The old lady could not keep up the building"; "children must be taught to conserve our national heritage"; "The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts"

6. save, preserveverb

   to keep up and reserve for personal or special use

   "She saved the old family photographs in a drawer"

7. preserve, keepverb

   prevent (food) from rotting

   "preserved meats"; "keep potatoes fresh"

8. keep, preserveverb

   maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger

   "May God keep you"

9. preserveverb

   keep undisturbed for personal or private use for hunting, shooting, or fishing

   "preserve the forest and the lakes"

Wiktionary(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. preservenoun

   a sweet spread made of any of a variety of berries

2. preservenoun

   a nature preserve

3. preserveverb

   To protect; to keep; to maintain the condition of.

   Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it - Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space)

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Preserveverb

   to keep or save from injury or destruction; to guard or defend from evil, harm, danger, etc.; to protect

2. Preserveverb

   to save from decay by the use of some preservative substance, as sugar, salt, etc.; to season and prepare for remaining in a good state, as fruits, meat, etc.; as, to preserve peaches or grapes

3. Preserveverb

   to maintain throughout; to keep intact; as, to preserve appearances; to preserve silence

4. Preserveverb

   to make preserves

5. Preserveverb

   to protect game for purposes of sport

6. Preservenoun

   that which is preserved; fruit, etc., seasoned and kept by suitable preparation; esp., fruit cooked with sugar; -- commonly in the plural

7. Preservenoun

   a place in which game, fish, etc., are preserved for purposes of sport, or for food

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Preserve

   prē-zėrv′, v.t. to keep safe from harm or injury: to defend: to keep in a sound state: to season for preservation: to make lasting: to keep up, as appearances.—n. that which is preserved, as fruit, &c.: that which preserves: a place for the protection of animals, as game: (pl.) spectacles to protect the eyes from strong light, &c.—n. Prēservabil′ity.—adj. Prēser′vable.—n. Prēservā′tion, act of preserving or keeping safe: state of being preserved: safety.—adjs. Prēser′vative, Prēser′vatory, tending to preserve: having the quality of preserving.—n. that which preserves: a preventive of injury or decay.—n. Prēserv′er. [Fr. préserver—L. præ, beforehand, servāre, to preserve.]

Matched Categories

1. • Keep
   • Reservation
   • Sphere

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'preserve' in Verbs Frequency: #498

Anagrams for preserve »

1. perverse

How to pronounce preserve?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say preserve in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of preserve in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of preserve in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of preserve in a Sentence

1. State John Kerry:

   To preserve and protect Tunisia’s emerging democracy and growing prosperity, expanding the security cooperation is going to be essential.

2. Carol Levenson:

   Abbott appears to have brokered the financing structure with the rating agencies to preserve investment grade ratings, the consideration is balanced between cash and equity, with a strong 45% equity component.

3. Robert Menendez:

   After 20 years of blood and national treasure, the question is still in my mind, how do we ultimately ensure the Taliban can not run over the Afghan government and potentially create it as a place for terrorist attacks to take place ? how do we preserve the rights of Afghan women in civil society that have been achieved ?

4. African American:

   What it means to preserve a landmark in this instance is really about telling overlooked stories embodied in those places -- ones of African American resilience, activism and achievement -- that are fundamental to the nation itself.

5. Carlos Javier Rodriguez:

   It's not going to be that way. Our identity, we will preserve it at all cost, that's why I think that it's going to be really hard for you to find a McDonald's or a Starbucks right down the corner.

Images & Illustrations of preserve

Popularity rank by frequency of use