preserve noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of preserve noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

preserve

noun
 
/prɪˈzɜːv/
 
/prɪˈzɜːrv/
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  1. [singular] preserve (of somebody) an activity, a job, an interest, etc. that is thought to be suitable for one particular person or group of people
    • Football is no longer the preserve of men.
    • I began my career in the days when nursing was a female preserve.
    • Higher education is no longer the preserve of the wealthy.
  2. [countable, usually plural, uncountable] a type of jam made by boiling fruit with a large amount of sugarTopics Foodc2
  3. [countable, usually plural, uncountable] (especially British English) a type of pickle made by cooking vegetables with salt or vinegar
  4. (North American English)
    (also reserve British and North American English)
    [countable] a piece of land that is a protected area for animals, plants, etc.
  5. [countable] an area of private land or water where animals and fish are kept for people to hunt
    • This land is protected as a wildlife preserve.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • forest
    • nature
    • wilderness
    preposition
    • in a/​the preserve
    See full entry
  6. Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘keep safe from harm’): from Old French preserver, from late Latin praeservare, from prae- ‘before, in advance’ + servare ‘to keep’.
See preserve in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee preserve in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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