preserve
verb /prɪˈzɜːv/
/prɪˈzɜːrv/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they preserve | /prɪˈzɜːv/ /prɪˈzɜːrv/ |
| he / she / it preserves | /prɪˈzɜːvz/ /prɪˈzɜːrvz/ |
| past simple preserved | /prɪˈzɜːvd/ /prɪˈzɜːrvd/ |
| past participle preserved | /prɪˈzɜːvd/ /prɪˈzɜːrvd/ |
| -ing form preserving | /prɪˈzɜːvɪŋ/ /prɪˈzɜːrvɪŋ/ |
- preserve something to keep a particular quality, feature, etc.; to make sure that something is kept
- He was anxious to preserve his reputation.
- Efforts to preserve the peace have failed.
- She managed to preserve her sense of humour under very trying circumstances.
- He was insistent on preserving the integrity of the brand.
Extra Examples- The Act contained provisions designed to preserve the status quo.
- She was determined to preserve her independence and way of life.
- The style of the original film is preserved perfectly.
- We were anxious to preserve the character of the house.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- faithfully
- lovingly
- …
- seek to
- try to
- be anxious to
- …
- as
- for
- from
- …
- an attempt to preserve something
- beautifully, exquisitely, well, wonderfully, etc. preserved
- be preserved intact
- …
- [often passive] to keep something in its original state in good condition
- preserve something/somebody a perfectly preserved 14th century house
- (humorous) Is he really 60? He's remarkably well preserved.
- We need knowledgeable gallery curators to preserve great masterpieces for posterity.
- preserve something + adj. This vase has been preserved intact.
Extra ExamplesTopics Buildingsb2- She carefully preserved all his letters.
- The collection has been sold to the British Museum where it will be preserved for the nation.
- The prison is preserved as a tourist attraction.
- They were thrilled to discover a beautifully preserved specimen of Roman pottery.
- You need to say why the building is worth preserving.
- campaigners fighting to preserve a historic building
- The National Trust preserves the house and its grounds.
- Three miles away is a perfectly preserved stretch of Roman road.
- The iron coins are poorly preserved and have rusted.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- faithfully
- lovingly
- …
- seek to
- try to
- be anxious to
- …
- as
- for
- from
- …
- an attempt to preserve something
- beautifully, exquisitely, well, wonderfully, etc. preserved
- be preserved intact
- …
- to prevent something, especially food, from decaying (= being destroyed by natural processes) by treating it in a particular way
- preserve something Wax polish preserves wood and leather.
- preserved lemons
- preserve something in something olives preserved in brine
- preserve something from something an attempt to preserve the corpse from decomposition
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- faithfully
- lovingly
- …
- seek to
- try to
- be anxious to
- …
- as
- for
- from
- …
- an attempt to preserve something
- beautifully, exquisitely, well, wonderfully, etc. preserved
- be preserved intact
- …
- preserve somebody/something (from something) to keep somebody/something alive, or safe from harm or danger synonym save
- The society was set up to preserve endangered species from extinction.
Extra Examples- We need to take action to help preserve fish stocks.
- She wanted to preserve him from harassment.
- To preserve life should always be the goal.
compare conserve
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’.