# reserve

Pronunciation: say "ri-ZURV" US /ɹɪˈzɝv/, UK /ɹɪˈzɜːv/

## Verb

1. To book in advance, arranging for something to be held and set aside for your later use.
   - Simple: To book something ahead of time so it is saved for you.
   - _She reserved a hotel room months before the conference began._
   - _Travelers often reserve tickets online to guarantee a seat._
2. To keep something for yourself, holding it back from others rather than giving it up or handing it over.
   - Simple: To keep something back instead of giving it away.
   - _Authorities reserve the power to revoke a license at any time._
   - _The seller reserved title to the goods until full payment was made._
3. To keep something in store for future use or for a special occasion.
   - Simple: To save something for later or for a special time.
   - _They reserve the corner office for visiting executives._
   - _She reserved her energy for the final lap of the race._

## Noun

4. A supply of something, including money, kept back for future use or to meet expected or unexpected needs.
   - Simple: An amount of something, such as money or supplies, saved until it is needed.
   - _The hospital keeps a small reserve of blood for emergencies when regular supplies run short._
   - _By the tenth hour of the negotiation, she was drawing on her last reserves of patience._
5. An area of land or water set apart and kept for a particular purpose, such as protecting wildlife or preserving habitat.
   - Simple: An area of land or water set apart and protected for a special use, such as for wildlife.
   - _The government created a marine reserve along the coast._
   - _Several game reserves border the national park._
6. A quantity of a natural resource that is known to exist but has not yet been extracted or used.
   - Simple: An amount of a natural resource that is known to be there but not yet taken out.
   - _Geologists estimated the copper reserve at several million tons._
   - _The country's coal reserves should last for many decades._
7. A military force of trained members who usually serve part-time and can be mobilized for full-time service when needed.
   - Simple: A part of the military made up of trained people who usually serve part-time and can be called in when needed.
   - _When the floods hit, the reserve was called up to work alongside the regular troops._
   - _He spent twenty years in the reserves, fitting weekend drills around his job as an electrician._
8. Restraint in speech or behavior; a tendency to hold back and act with caution around others.
   - Simple: A quiet, careful way of behaving that holds back your feelings.
   - _Her reserve melted once she felt comfortable with the group._
   - _He answered every question with a polite reserve that revealed nothing._
9. A team member who starts on the bench but can come on to replace a tired or injured player.
   - Simple: A player who waits to join a game and take the place of a tired or hurt teammate.
   - _The manager named two reserves on the bench for the cup final._
   - _He spent his first year as a reserve before becoming a regular starter._
10. A body of troops held back from the fighting line, ready to support the other units when the situation demands.
   - Simple: A group of soldiers kept back from a battle, ready to help when needed.
   - _The commander committed the reserve only at the decisive moment._
   - _The general kept his reserve behind the ridge until the enemy line began to break._
11. An area of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal or Indigenous group. *(Canada, Australia)*
   - Simple: Land set aside for an Aboriginal group to live on and use.
   - _The community council manages housing and services across the reserve._
   - _Several families moved off the reserve to find work in the city._
12. The act of reserving or keeping something back; a qualification or exception.
   - Simple: The act of keeping something back, or of leaving something out as an exception.
   - _The board approved the budget without reserve._
   - _Having read every page of the report, the committee endorsed its findings without reserve._
13. The minimum price a seller is willing to accept for an item at auction, below which it will not be sold.
   - Simple: The lowest price a seller will accept for something at an auction.
   - _Bidding stalled well below the reserve, so the painting went home unsold._
   - _Several lots were withdrawn after failing to reach their reserves._
14. Wine that a producer holds back and ages for a period before putting it on sale.
   - Simple: Special wine that a maker keeps back and ages before selling it.
   - _The estate holds back its finest grapes for a reserve aged three years in oak._
   - _Collectors prize the producer's reserve, which spends a decade maturing before release._

## Verb

15. To make an exception of something; to except it or set it apart. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To leave something out as an exception and not include it.

## Other meanings

- (noun) At an exhibition, a placing indicating that the recipient will receive a prize if another prizewinner is disqualified.
- (noun) A pile of cards dealt out at the start of a patience or solitaire game, drawn on during play.
- (noun) The absence of color or decoration; an area deliberately left plain.
- (noun) A substance applied to selected areas of a surface to prevent dye from taking or metal from being deposited there.

## Origin

Latin reservō, meaning "to reserve" or "to retain," reached English by way of Old French reserver.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/reserve (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).