reserve
UK /ɹɪˈzɜːv/ · US /ɹɪˈzɝv/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms reserves reserving reserved
- noun The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception. “The book is on reserve.”
- noun Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.
- noun A natural resource known to exist but not currently exploited. “New oil reserves are continuously being discovered, but not as fast as the existing ones are running out.”
- noun A tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose “the Connecticut Reserve in Ohio was originally set apart for the school fund of Connecticut.”
- noun (Canada) A tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group: Indian reserve.
- noun (military) A body of troops kept in the rear of an army drawn up for battle, reserved to support the other lines as occasion may require; a force or body of troops kept for an exigency. “no reserves [the military force is throwing everything it has at the front]”
- noun (finance, insurance) Funds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements.
- noun A reserve price in an auction. “no reserve [the lot(s) will be sold no matter how low the bids are]”
- verb (transitive) To keep back; to retain. “We reserve the right to make modifications.”
- verb To keep in store for future or special use. “This cake is reserved for the guests!”
- verb To book in advance; to make a reservation for. “I reserved a table for us at the best restaurant in town.”
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To make an exception of; to except.
- proper noun A city in Kansas.
- proper noun A census-designated place in Louisiana.
- proper noun A census-designated place in Montana.
- proper noun A village, the county seat of Catron County, New Mexico.
- proper noun A census-designated place in Wisconsin.
Synonyms
self-restraint reticence taciturnity reservation res rez Army Reserve substitute Territorial Army TA TAVR territorials terriers reservists hold save sign up for register for schedule enroll in modesty backlog stockpile second-stringer military reserve allow appropriate earmark set aside book
Etymology
From Old French reserver, from Latin reservō (“to reserve, retain”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To keep back; to retain; not to deliver, make over, or disclose.
- verb Hence, to keep in store for future or special use; to withhold from present use for another purpose or time; to keep; to retain.
- noun The act of reserving, or keeping back; reservation.
- noun That which is reserved, or kept back, as for future use. The virgins, besides the oil in their lamps, carried likewise a reserve in some other vessel for a continual supply. Tillotson.
Etymology [F. réserver, L. reservare, reservatum; pref. re- re- + servare to keep. See Serve.]
Etymology [F. réserve.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “reserve”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details