reserve

cash, or assets readily convertible into cash, held aside, as by a corporation, bank, state or national government, etc., to meet expected or unexpected demands.

uninvested cash held to comply with legal requirements.

something kept or stored for use or need; stock: a reserve of food.

a resource not normally called upon but available if needed.

10.

a tract of public land set apart for a special purpose: a forest reserve.

11.

an act of reserving; reservation, exception, or qualification: I will do what you ask, but with one reserve.

12.

Military.

a fraction of a military force held in readiness to sustain the attack or defense made by the rest of the force.

the part of a country's fighting force not in active service.

reserves, the enrolled but not regular components of the U.S. Army.

13.

formality and self-restraint in manner and relationship; avoidance of familiarity or intimacy with others: to conduct oneself with reserve.

14.

reticence or silence.

adjective

15.

kept in reserve; forming a reserve: a reserve fund; a reserve supply.

16.

of or pertaining to the animal awarded second place in livestock shows: the reserve champion steer.

Idioms

17.

in reserve, put aside or withheld for a future need; reserved: money in reserve.

18.

without reserve,

without restraint; frankly; freely.

(of articles at auction) without limitation as to the terms of sale, especially with no stipulated minimum price.

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English reserven (v.) < Middle French reserver < Latin reservāre to keep back, retain, equivalent to re- re- + servāre to save

Related forms

re·serv·a·ble, adjective

re·serve·less, adjective

non·re·serv·a·ble, adjective

non·re·serve, noun, adjective

Can be confused: re-serve, reserve.

Synonyms
1. husband, hold, store. See keep. 8. supply. 14. taciturnity, constraint, coldness.

Antonyms
1. squander. 13, 14. warmth.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To reserve

00:10

Reserve is one of our favorite verbs.

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to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.

to bark; yelp.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

reserve (rɪˈzɜːv)

—vb
1.	to keep back or set aside, esp for future use or contingency; withhold
2.	to keep for oneself; retain: I reserve the right to question these men later
3.	to obtain or secure by advance arrangement: I have reserved two tickets for tonight's show
4.	to delay delivery of (a judgment), esp in order to allow time for full consideration of the issues involved

—n
5.	a. something kept back or set aside, esp for future use or contingency
	b. (as modifier): a reserve stock
6.	the state or condition of being reserved: I have plenty in reserve
7.	a tract of land set aside for the protection and conservation of wild animals, flowers, etc: a nature reserve
8.	(Canadian) Also called: reservation an area of land set aside, esp (in the US and Canada) for American or Canadian Indian peoples
9.	(Austral), (NZ) an area of publicly owned land set aside for sport, recreation, etc
10.	the act of reserving; reservation
11.	a member of a team who only plays if a playing member drops out; a substitute
12.	(often plural)
	a. a part of an army or formation not committed to immediate action in a military engagement
	b. that part of a nation's armed services not in active service
13.	coolness or formality of manner; restraint, silence, or reticence
14.	finance
	a. a portion of capital not invested (a capital reserve) or a portion of profits not distributed (a revenue or general reserve) by a bank or business enterprise and held to meet legal requirements, future liabilities, or contingencies
	b. (often plural) liquid assets held by an organization, government, etc, to meet expenses and liabilities
15.	without reserve without reservations; fully; wholeheartedly

[C14: from Old French reserver, from Latin reservāre to save up, from re- + servāre to keep]

re'servable

—*adj*

re'server

—n

re-serve (riːˈsɜːv)

—vb
	(tr) to serve again

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

reserve

mid-14c., from O.Fr. reserver, from L. reservare "keep back, save back," from re- "back" + servare "to keep, save, preserve, protect" (see observe). The noun meaning "something stored up" is from 1650s. Reserved (in manner) first recorded 1601 in Shakespeare ("All's Well" v.3).

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

reserve re·serve (rĭ-zûrv')
v. re·served, re·serv·ing, re·serves

To keep back, as for future use or for a special purpose.
To set or cause to be set apart for a particular person or use.

n.
Something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose. adj.

Held back, set aside, or saved.
Forming a reserve.

Example sentences

His variations burn with infallible confidence and precision, and he can afford

to hold much of his technique in reserve.

Hold some in reserve, in orbit, ready to check out any interesting discoveries

as necessary.

If any is left over, drain from grounds, and reserve for making of jelly or

other dessert.

It is a nature reserve, yes, but it is also a far-reaching experiment.

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Matching Quote

"There is safety in reserve, but no attraction. One cannot love a reserved person."

-Jane Austen