Reserve
Reserve can be a verb or a noun. As a verb it means to store for future use.
Please call the restaurant and reserve a table for Saturday.
Emily reserved two books from the library.
As a noun, "reserve" means a supply of goods or materials. It is often used in plural form.
The government says it has only $25 million in usable foreign reserves.
"Reserve" as a noun also means a place where wildlife is protected.
Many national parks and forests in the US are nature reserves.
And lastly, as an uncountable noun, "reserve" means the act of keeping one's feelings hidden.
The dancer's reserve disappeared when the music started.
Preserve
"Preserve" as a verb means to protect something from change.
The glass case helps preserve the pictures of her ancestors.
Ed used a canning process to preserve tomatoes from the harvest.
And, like reserve, a preserve can also mean a place of protection for wildlife.
Conserve
To "conserve" means to protect something from harm, destruction, loss, or change.
We conserved on energy use by putting in new windows.
Conserve also means to use little of a natural resource.
To conserve water, you should turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth.
And conserve can also be a noun. It means a sweet food made by preserving fruit with sugar.
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