reserve

plural reserves

1. A restriction.
   1. countableuncountableThe act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.

      The book is on reserve.

      1 more example

      I accept your view with one reserve.

   2. countableuncountableRestraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.

      Synonyms: self-restraint, reticence, taciturnity

2. That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use.
   1. countableuncountableA 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.

      1 more example

      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

   2. countableuncountableA tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose

      the Clergy Reserves in Canada are for the support of the clergy.

      1 more example

      the Connecticut Reserve in Ohio was originally set apart for the school fund of Connecticut.

   3. CanadacountableuncountableA tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group: Indian reserve.

      Synonyms: reservation, reservation, res, rez

   4. countableuncountablegovernmentA 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

   5. countableuncountablebusinessFunds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements.

      1 more example

      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 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

   6. countableuncountableA reserve price in an auction.

      no reserve [the lot(s) will be sold no matter how low the bids are]

      1 more example

      reserve not met [the lot(s) will not be sold because the highest bid was too low to be acceptable]

   7. countableuncountableWine held back and aged before being sold.
   8. countableuncountableceramicsAbsence 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

3. Something initially kept back for later use in recreation.
   1. countableuncountablehobbiesA 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

   2. countableuncountablecard gamesA group or pile of cards dealt out at the beginning of a patience or solitaire game to be used during play.
4. countableuncountableIn exhibitions, a distinction indicating that the recipient will get a prize in the event of another person being disqualified.
5. countableuncountablecalico printingA resist.
6. countableuncountableA preparation used on an object being electroplated to fix the limits of the deposit.

present singular third person reserves · participle present reserving · participle past reserved · past reserved

1. transitiveTo keep back; to retain.

   I reserve the right to change my mind.

   2 more examples

   We reserve the right to make modifications.

   I will reserve judgment until I have actually read his book.

   Synonyms: hold

2. ditransitivetransitiveTo keep in store for future or special use.

   This cake is reserved for the guests!

   2 more examples

   Please reserve me a parking space if you can.

   c. 1703-1720, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Very Young Lady on Her Marriage Conceal your esteem and love in your own breast, and reserve your kind looks and language for private hours.

   Synonyms: hold, save

3. ditransitivetransitiveTo book in advance; to make a reservation for.

   Thanks for reserving us a room!

   1 more example

   I reserved a table for us at the best restaurant in town.

   Synonyms: sign up for, register for, schedule, enroll in, book

4. obsoletetransitiveTo make an exception of; to except.

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