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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

reserve.

A restriction.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɹɪˈzɝv/General-American/ɹɪˈzɜːv/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A restriction. The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.

    countable · uncountable
    The book is on reserve.
    I accept your view with one reserve.
  2. A restriction. Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.

    countable · uncountable
  3. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. A natural resource known to exist but not currently exploited.

    countable · uncountable
    New oil reserves are continuously being discovered, but not as fast as the existing ones are running out.
  4. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. A tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose

    countable · uncountable
    the Connecticut Reserve in Ohio was originally set apart for the school fund of Connecticut.
    the Clergy Reserves in Canada are for the support of the clergy.
  5. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. A tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group: Indian reserve.

    Canada · countable · uncountable
  6. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. 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.

    countable · uncountable
    no reserves [the military force is throwing everything it has at the front]
  7. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. Funds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements.

    countable · uncountable
  8. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. A reserve price in an auction.

    countable · uncountable
    no reserve [the lot(s) will be sold no matter how low the bids are]
    reserve not met [the lot(s) will not be sold because the highest bid was too low to be acceptable]
  9. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. Wine held back and aged before being sold.

    countable · uncountable
  10. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use. Absence of color or decoration; the state of being left plain.

    countable · uncountable
  11. Something initially kept back for later use in recreation. A member of a team who does not participate from the start of the game, but can be used to replace tired or injured team-mates.

    countable · uncountable
  12. Something initially kept back for later use in recreation. A group or pile of cards dealt out at the beginning of a patience or solitaire game to be used during play.

    countable · uncountable
  13. In exhibitions, a distinction indicating that the recipient will get a prize in the event of another person being disqualified.

    countable · uncountable
  14. A resist.

    countable · uncountable
  15. A preparation used on an object being electroplated to fix the limits of the deposit.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Old French reserver, from Latin reservō (“to reserve, retain”).

verb/ɹɪˈzɝv/General-American/ɹɪˈzɜːv/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To keep back; to retain.

    transitive
    We reserve the right to make modifications.
    I will reserve judgment until I have actually read his book.
  2. To keep in store for future or special use.

    ditransitive · transitive
    This cake is reserved for the guests!
    Please reserve me a parking space if you can.
  3. To book in advance; to make a reservation for.

    ditransitive · transitive
    I reserved a table for us at the best restaurant in town.
    Thanks for reserving us a room!
  4. To make an exception of; to except.

    obsolete · transitive
Where this word comes from

From Old French reserver, from Latin reservō (“to reserve, retain”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.