reserve

Syllables: re·serveUK/ɹɪˈzɜːv//ɹɪˈzɝv/

reserve noun: the act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.

Noun

reserve (countable and uncountable, plural reserves)

The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.
- The book is on reserve.
- I accept your view with one reserve.
Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.

Synonyms:

self-restraint, reticence, taciturnity
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.
- If Alberta’s reserves are a carbon bomb, this global expansion of tar sands and oil shale exploitation amounts to an escalating emissions arms race, the unlocking of a subterranean cache of weapons of mass ecological destruction.2014 April 25, Martin Lukacs, “Canada becoming launch-pad of a global tar sands and oil shale frenzy”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 20, page 13
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.
- the Clergy Reserves in Canada are for the support of the clergy.
(Canada) A tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group: Indian reserve.

Synonyms:

reservation, res, rez
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]
Synonyms:

Army Reserve
Funds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements.
- The tone was set at Trump’s Inauguration. Tech moguls streamed into Washington; some sat behind the President during his Inaugural Address, a signal of the power they would wield. Over the next 11 months, they would use their enormous cash reserves, cultural power, and momentum to push their...2025 December 11, Charlie Campbell, Andrew R. Chow and Billy Perrigo, “The Architects of AI Are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year”, in Time
A reserve price in an auction.
- 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]
Wine held back and aged before being sold.
Absence of color or decoration; the state of being left plain.
- Each is decorated with a simple disk in reserve and a band in reserve adorned with white dots.1973, Charles Kyrle Wilkinson, Nishapur: Pottery of the Early Islamic Period, New York, N.Y: Metropolitan Museum of Art, page 161
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.

Synonyms:

substitute
A group or pile of cards dealt out at the beginning of a patience or solitaire game to be used during play.

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In exhibitions, a distinction indicating that the recipient will get a prize in the event of another person being disqualified.
(calico printing) A resist.
A preparation used on an object being electroplated to fix the limits of the deposit.

Verb

reserve (third-person singular simple present reserves, present participle reserving, simple past and past participle reserved)

(transitive) To keep back; to retain.
- We reserve the right to make modifications.
- I will reserve judgment until I have actually read his book.
Synonyms:

hold
(ditransitive, transitive) To keep in store for future or special use.
- This cake is reserved for the guests!
- Please reserve me a parking space if you can.
Synonyms:

hold, save
(ditransitive, transitive) To book in advance; to make a reservation for.
- I reserved a table for us at the best restaurant in town.
- Thanks for reserving us a room!
Synonyms:

sign up for, register for, schedule, enroll in, book
(obsolete, transitive) To make an exception of; to except.

Proper noun capitalized: Reserve

Reserve

A city in Kansas.
A census-designated place in Louisiana.
A census-designated place in Montana.
A village, the county seat of Catron County, New Mexico.
A census-designated place in Wisconsin.

reserve meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

reserve in Hindi

reserve, reticence: बचाव bacāv

reserve in Tamil

முன்பதிவு செய், இருப்பு, நிபந்தனை, எண்ணங்களை வெளியிடாமை, கமுக்கம், சேமித்து வைத்தல்

reserve in Marathi

आरक्षित करणे, राखीव ठेवणे

reserve in Urdu

محفوظ کرنا, محفوظ رکھنا

More languagesFewer languages

reserve in Bengali: সংচিতি, সংরক্ষিত বস্তু, গাম্ভীর্র্য, সংরক্ষিত ভূমি
reserve in Telugu: రిజర్వ్, రిజర్వ్ చేయండి, రిజర్వు చేయండి
reserve in Malayalam: കരുതൽ karutal
reserve in Kannada: ಕಾಪಿಟ್ಟದ್ದು, ಕೂಡಿಟ್ಟದ್ದು, ತೆಗೆದಿಟ್ಟದ್ದು, ಆಪದ್ಧನ
reserve in Punjabi: ਰਿਜ਼ਰਵ
reserve in Gujarati: અનામત રાખવા
reserve in Odia: ରିଜର୍ଭ କରନ୍ତୁ
reserve in Assamese: সাঁচা xãsa, সঁচা xõsa
reserve in Nepali: आरक्षित गर्नुहोस्, आरक्ष, आरक्षित गर्न
reserve in Tagalog: panimbos, pataan
reserve in Arabic: اِحْتِيَاط iḥtiyāṭ, ذَخِيرَة ḏaḵīra, حَجَزَ ḥajaza
reserve in Malay: rezab, rizab, tempah
reserve in Vietnamese: giữ lại, bảo lưu, phòng bị, để dành

Examples of reserve in a sentence

I reserve the right to change my mind.
Over the next 11 months, they would use their enormous cash reserves, cultural power, and momentum to push their products into homes across the world.2025 December 11, Charlie Campbell, Andrew R. Chow and Billy Perrigo, “The Architects of AI Are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year”, in Time:

All 40 example sentences with reserve

Synonyms of reserve

11 more synonymsFewer synonyms

sign up for
register for
schedule
enroll in
book
Territorial Army
TA
TAVR
territorials
terriers
reservists

All synonyms of reserve

Forms of reserve

Noun
plural	reserves
Verb
third-person singular present	reserves
present participle	reserving
past participle	reserved
past	reserved

Past tense of reserve: reserved

Plural of reserve: reserves

Origin of reserve

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

Phrases with reserve

3 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with reserve

9 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about reserve

What does reserve mean?: Reserve means the act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.
What is reserve in Hindi?: Reserve in Hindi is बचाव (bacāv). See Reserve meaning in Hindi.
How do you use reserve in a sentence?: I reserve the right to change my mind.
What part of speech is reserve?: Reserve can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce reserve?: Reserve is pronounced /ɹɪˈzɝv/ (US).
What is the plural of reserve?: The plural of reserve is reserves.

Words near reserve in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Knabrupt-reserve.wav.

Cite this entry: “reserve.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reserve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.