Adjacent Words

Preserve definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRESERVE, v.t. prezerv'. [Low L. proeservo; proe and servo, to keep.]
1. To keep or save from injury or destruction; to defend from evil.
God did send me before you to preserve life. Genesis 45.
O Lord, preserve me from the violent man. Psalms 140.
2. To uphold; to sustain.
O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. Psalms 36.
3. To save from decay; to keep in a sound state; as, to preserve fruit in winter. Salt is used to preserve meat.
4. To season with sugar or other substances for preservation; as, to preserve plums, quinces or other fruit.
5. To keep or defend from corruption; as, to preserve youth from vice.
PRESERVE, n. preserv'. Fruit or a vegetable seasoned and kept in sugar or sirup.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a domain that seems to be specially reserved for someone; "medicine is no longer a male preserve"
2: a reservation where animals are protected
3: fruit preserved by cooking with sugar [syn: conserve, preserve, conserves, preserves] v
1: 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" [syn: continue, uphold, carry on, bear on, preserve] [ant: cease, discontinue, give up, lay off, quit, stop]
2: 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" [syn: conserve, preserve, maintain, keep up]
3: to keep up and reserve for personal or special use; "She saved the old family photographs in a drawer" [syn: save, preserve]
4: prevent (food) from rotting; "preserved meats"; "keep potatoes fresh" [syn: preserve, keep]
5: maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger; "May God keep you" [syn: keep, preserve]
6: keep undisturbed for personal or private use for hunting, shooting, or fishing; "preserve the forest and the lakes"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (preserved; preserving) Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin praeservare, from Late Latin, to observe beforehand, from Latin prae- + servare to keep, guard, observe — more at conserve Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction ; protect 2. a. to keep alive, intact, or free from decay b. maintain 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 • preservation noun • preserver noun II. noun Date: 1600 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 (as animals or plants) <a game preserve for regulated hunting or fishing> <nature preserves> 3. something regarded as reserved for certain persons

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. 1 a keep safe or free from harm, decay, etc. b keep alive (a name, memory, etc.). 2 maintain (a thing) in its existing state. 3 retain (a quality or condition). 4 a treat or refrigerate (food) to prevent decomposition or fermentation. b prepare (fruit) by boiling it with sugar, for long-term storage. 5 keep (game, a river, etc.) undisturbed for private use. --n. (in sing. or pl.) 1 preserved fruit; jam. 2 a place where game or fish etc. is preserved. 3 a sphere or area of activity regarded as a person's own. Phrases and idioms: well-preserved (of an elderly person) showing little sign of ageing. Derivatives: preservable adj. preserver n. Etymology: ME f. OF preserver f. LL praeservare (as PRAE-, servare keep)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Preserve Pre*serve", v. i. 1. To make preserves. --Shak. 2. To protect game for purposes of sport.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Preserve Pre*serve", n. 1. That which is preserved; fruit, etc., seasoned and kept by suitable preparation; esp., fruit cooked with sugar; -- commonly in the plural. 2. A place in which game, fish, etc., are preserved for purposes of sport, or for food.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Preserve Pre*serve", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preserved; p. pr. & vb. n. Preserving.] [F. pr['e]server, from L. prae before + servare to save, preserve; cf. L. praeservare to observe beforehand. See Serve.] 1. To keep or save from injury or destruction; to guard or defend from evil, harm, danger, etc.; to protect. O Lord, thou preserved man and beast. --Ps. xxxvi. 6. Now, good angels preserve the king. --Shak. 2. 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. You can not preserve it from tainting. --Shak. 3. To maintain throughout; to keep intact; as, to preserve appearances; to preserve silence. To preserve game, to protect it from extermination. Syn: To keep; save; secure; uphold; sustain; defend; spare; protect; guard; shield. See Keep.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(preserves, preserving, preserved) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you preserve a situation or condition, you make sure that it remains as it is, and does not change or end. We will do everything to preserve peace. ...an effort to fit in more students while preserving standards. = maintain VERB: V n, V n • preservation ...the preservation of the status quo. = maintenance 2. If you preserve something, you take action to save it or protect it from damage or decay. We need to preserve the forest... ...perfectly preserved medieval houses. VERB: V n, V-ed • preservation ...the preservation of buildings of architectural or historic interest. N-UNCOUNT 3. If you preserve food, you treat it in order to prevent it from decaying so that you can store it for a long time. I like to make puree, using only enough sugar to preserve the plums. ...preserved ginger in syrup. VERB: V n, V-ed 4. Preserves are foods such as jam that are made by cooking fruit with a large amount of sugar so that they can be stored for a long time. N-PLURAL 5. If you say that a job or activity is the preserve of a particular person or group of people, you mean that they are the only ones who take part in it. The conduct of foreign policy is largely the preserve of the president... N-COUNT: usu N of n 6. A nature preserve is an area of land or water where animals are protected from hunters. (AM) ...Pantanal, one of the world's great wildlife preserves. = reserve N-COUNT: usu supp N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Keep, guard, protect, defend, secure, shield, save. 2. Maintain, uphold, sustain, guard, keep. 3. Conserve, keep sound, save from decay. II. n. 1. Sweetmeat, confect, confection, comfit, confit, confiture, jam, conserve, jelly, marmalade. 2. Enclosure (for game).

Moby Thesaurus

Indian reservation, Jell-O, anhydrate, archives, asylum, attend to, baby-sit, bank, bird sanctuary, blancmange, blast-freeze, bottle up, brine, can, candy, care for, chaperon, cherish, comfit, compote, confection, confectionery, confiture, conserve, conserves, continue, copyright, cork up, corn, cure, defend, dehydrate, desiccate, dry, dry-cure, dry-salt, embalm, eternalize, eternize, evaporate, extend, forest preserve, foster, freeze, freeze-dry, frosting, fume, game preserve, game reserve, game sanctuary, gelatin, glaze, guard, harbor, harbor of refuge, harborage, haven, hold, hold back, hold in, honey, husband, icing, immortalize, inhibit, irradiate, jam, jelly, jerk, keep, keep alive, keep back, keep by one, keep fresh, keep going, keep in, keep in reserve, keep in store, keep intact, keep inviolate, keep on hand, keep safe, keep up, keep watch over, kipper, lay by, lengthen, library, lock in, look after, look out for, look to, maintain, marinade, marinate, marmalade, matronize, meringue, mind, minister to, monumentalize, mother, mousse, mummify, museum, national forest, national park, not destroy, not endanger, not expend, not use up, not waste, nurse, nurture, paradise, park, patent, perennialize, perpetuate, pickle, port, preservatize, preserve from oblivion, preserves, prolong, protect, protege, protract, provide for, put apart, put aside, put by, put up, quick-freeze, refrigerate, refuge, register, repress, reservation, reserve, retain, ride herd on, safe haven, safeguard, safehold, salt, sanctuary, save, save up, season, see after, see to, set apart, set aside, set by, shelter, shepherd, shield, smoke, smoke-cure, snug harbor, spare, state forest, store, stronghold, stuff, support, suppress, sustain, sweet, sweet stuff, sweetmeat, sweets, take care of, take charge of, tend, tutti-frutti, uphold, watch, watch out for, watch over, whipped cream, wilderness preserve, wildlife preserve, withhold