Reserve

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)v

Full definition of reserve

Noun

1. (behaviour) Restriction.
1. The act of reserving, or keeping back; reservation; exception.
   I accept your view with one reserve
   .
2. Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.
2. That which is reserved, or kept back, as for future use.
1. 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.
• 2014-04-25, Martin Lukacs, Canada becoming launch-pad of a global tar sands and oil shale frenzy, 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.
2. A tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose; as, the Connecticut Reserve in Ohio, originally set apart for the school fund of Connecticut; the Clergy Reserves in Canada, for the support of the clergy.
3. (Canada) A tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group; Indian reserve (compare US reservation.)
4. (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.
5. (finance) Funds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements.
6. (social) Something initially kept back for later use in a recreation.
1. (sports) 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.
2. (card games) A group or pile of cards dealt out at the beginning of a patience or solitaire game to be used during play.

Synonyms

• reservation, res
• (restraint of freedom in words or actions) self-restraint, reticence, taciturnity
• (sports: reserve player) substitute
• (tract of land for Aboriginal peoples) rez

Derived terms

Related terms

• reservist

Verb

1. To keep back; to retain.We reserve the right to make modifications.
2. To keep in store for future or special use.This cake is reserved for the guests!
• Jonathan SwiftReserve your kind looks and language for private hours.
3. To book in advance; to make a reservation.I reserved a table for us at the best restaurant in town.
4. (obsolete) To make an exception of; to except.

Anagrams

• reveres
• reverse
• severer