noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˌkɑnsə(ɹ)ˈveɪʃən/
rhymes with -eɪʃən
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K AA2 N S ER0 V EY1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting; the keeping (of a thing) in a safe or entire state; preservation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Wise use of natural resources.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Genes and associated characteristics of biological organisms that are unchanged by evolution, for example similar or identical nucleic acid sequences or proteins in different species descended from a common ancestor
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
The protection and care of cultural heritage, including artwork and architecture, as well as historical and archaeological artifacts
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Qualifier: culture
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
lack of change in a measurable property of an isolated physical system (conservation of energy, mass, momentum, electric charge, subatomic particles, and fundamental symmetries)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
the preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: preservation, saving
Narrower terms: conservancy, soil conservation, oil conservation, water conservation
8
noun
Meaning 8
(physics) the maintenance of a certain quantities unchanged during chemical reactions or physical transformations
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: principle
Narrower terms: conservation of charge, conservation of electricity, conservation of energy, law of conservation of energy, first law of thermodynamics, conservation of mass, conservation of matter, law of conservation of mass, law of conservation of matter, conservation of momentum, parity, conservation of parity, space-reflection symmetry, mirror symmetry
9
noun
Meaning 9
an occurrence of improvement by virtue of preventing loss or injury or other change
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: preservation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: improvement, betterment, advance
History
Etymology
From Old French. By surface analysis, conserve + -ation.
Across languages
Translations
82 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
պահպանում
(pahpanum)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Armenian:
կոնսերվացում
(konservacʻum)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Bulgarian:
опазване
(opazvane)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Bulgarian:
съхраняване
(sǎhranjavane)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Bulgarian:
консервация
(konservacija)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Catalan:
conservació
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Chinese Mandarin:
保存
(bǎocún)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Czech:
zachování
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Czech:
konzervace
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Danish:
bevaring
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Dutch:
bewaren
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Dutch:
conserveren
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Esperanto:
konservado
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Finnish:
suojelu
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Finnish:
säilytys
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Finnish:
säilyttäminen
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
French:
préservation
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
German:
Erhaltung
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
German:
Konservierung
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
German:
Bewahrung
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
German:
Erhalt
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
German:
Musealisierung
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Greek:
διατήρηση
(diatírisi)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Hebrew:
שימור
(shimur)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Hungarian:
megőrzés
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Indonesian:
konservasi
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Japanese:
保存
(hozon)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Kazakh:
сақтау
(saqtau)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Korean:
보존
(bojon)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Lao:
ການອະນຸລັກ
(kān ʼa nu lak)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Malay:
pemuliharaan
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Malayalam:
സംരക്ഷണം
(saṁrakṣaṇaṁ)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Norwegian Bokmål:
bevaring
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Norwegian Nynorsk:
bevaring
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Polish:
konserwacja
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Portuguese:
conservação
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Romanian:
conservare
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Russian:
сохране́ние
(soxranénije)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Russian:
консерва́ция
(konservácija)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Semai:
puleh perei
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Spanish:
conservación
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Spanish:
criamiento
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Swedish:
bevarande
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Tagalog:
satinggal
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Ukrainian:
збере́ження
(zberéžennja)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Ukrainian:
консерва́ція
(konservácija)
— The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting
Armenian:
բնապահպանություն
(bnapahpanutʻyun)
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
German:
Naturschutz
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
German:
Umweltschutz
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
German:
Artenschutz
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
German:
Ressourcenschutz
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
Hungarian:
természetvédelem
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
Norwegian Bokmål:
naturvern
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
Norwegian Nynorsk:
naturvern
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
Russian:
охра́на приро́ды
(oxrána priródy)
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
Tagalog:
satinggal
— the discipline concerned with protection of biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources
Chinese Mandarin:
保護 /保护
(bǎohù)
— A wise use of natural resources
Dutch:
natuurbescherming
— A wise use of natural resources
Finnish:
ympäristönsuojelu
— A wise use of natural resources
Finnish:
luonnonsuojelu
— A wise use of natural resources
French:
défense
— A wise use of natural resources
French:
préservation
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Schutz
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Umweltschutz
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Unterschutzstellung
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Bewahrung
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Erhalt
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Erhaltung
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Einsparung
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Schonung
— A wise use of natural resources
German:
Ressourcenschonung
— A wise use of natural resources
Japanese:
節約
(setsuyaku)
— A wise use of natural resources
Japanese:
保護
(hogo)
— A wise use of natural resources
Romanian:
prezervare
— A wise use of natural resources
Romanian:
apărare
— A wise use of natural resources
Russian:
сохране́ние
(soxranénije)
— A wise use of natural resources
Russian:
охра́на
(oxrána)
— A wise use of natural resources
Russian:
защи́та
(zaščíta)
— A wise use of natural resources
French:
conservation
— (biology) gene sequences or structures that are not changed in evolution
Italian:
conservazione
— (biology) gene sequences or structures that are not changed in evolution
Portuguese:
conservação
— (biology) gene sequences or structures that are not changed in evolution
Spanish:
conservación
— (biology) gene sequences or structures that are not changed in evolution
