Definition of: reserve

(ri·zûrv′) v.t. ·served, ·serv·ing
1. To hold back or set aside for special or future use; store up.
2. To keep as one's own; retain: He reserves that privilege for himself.
3. To arrange for ahead of time; have set aside for one's use: I reserved two tickets on the train.
4. To set aside (a portion of the consecrated elements of the Eucharist) for communion of the sick. See synonyms under RETAIN.
—noun
1. That which is reserved; something stored up for future use, as in a reservoir; something set apart for a particular purpose; specifically, a reservation of land.
2. In banking, the amount of funds reserved from investment, in order promptly to meet regular or emergent demands.
3. The act of reserving; reservation.
4. The state of being reserved; silence as to one's feelings, opinions, or affairs; reticence; also, absence of exaggeration.
5. A fighting force held back from action to meet possible emergencies or demands.
6. That component of the armed forces of a nation composed of civilians trained for military service or assignment and subject to call to active duty in emergencies or under particular circumstances; specifically, U.S., the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Coast Guard Reserve.
—adjective Held in reserve; constituting a reserve: a reserve supply of money. [<OF reserver <L reservare keep back <re- back + servare keep]
—re·serv′a·ble adjective
—re·serv′er noun Synonyms (noun): backwardness, coldness, constraint, coyness, haughtiness, limitation, modesty, pride, reservation, reservedness, restraint, reticence, shyness, taciturnity. Reserve is the holding oneself aloof from others, or holding back one's feelings from expression, or one's affairs from communication to others; it may spring from coldness or pride, but is not identical with either and may arise from timidity or policy. See MODESTY.