reserves

Noun

reserve (countable and uncountable, plural reserves)

1. The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.
   • The book is on reserve.
2. Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.

   Synonyms:

   self-restraint, reticence, taciturnity

3. 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.
4. 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.
5. (Canada) A tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group: Indian reserve.

   Synonyms:

   reservation, res, rez

6. 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

See all 24 meanings of reserve