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PlainSpell

reserve

re·serve/ɹɪˈzɝv/noun, verb

reserve is spelled R-E-S-E-R-V-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (re·serve). It appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, reserve means “The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of reserve is reserves.

How many letters and syllables are in reserve?

Letters7: R-E-S-E-R-V-E
Syllables2: re·serve
In writing40 times per million words; the 2,487th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is reserve?

Reserve appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce reserve?

  • US /ɹɪˈzɝv/
  • UK /ɹɪˈzɜːv/

Reserve has 2 syllables, split re·serve in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Knabrupt-reserve.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with reserve

Also written: re-serve (one word or two).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with reserve?

8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as reserve from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹv/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: reverse, severer.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of reserve

  • reserves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • reserving participle, present
  • reserved participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does reserve mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.

    The book is on reserve.

  2. 2

    Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.

  3. 3

    A natural resource known to exist but not currently exploited.

    New oil reserves are continuously being discovered, but not as fast as the existing ones are running out.

  4. 4

    A tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose

    the Connecticut Reserve in Ohio was originally set apart for the school fund of Connecticut.

  5. 5

    CanadaA tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group: Indian reserve.

  6. 6

    A body of troops kept in the rear of an army drawn up for battle, reserved to support the other lines as occasion may require; a force or body of troops kept for an exigency.

    no reserves [the military force is throwing everything it has at the front]

  7. 7

    Funds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements.

  8. 8

    A reserve price in an auction.

    no reserve [the lot(s) will be sold no matter how low the bids are]

verb

  1. 1

    To keep back; to retain.

    We reserve the right to make modifications.

  2. 2

    To keep in store for future or special use.

    This cake is reserved for the guests!

  3. 3

    To book in advance; to make a reservation for.

    I reserved a table for us at the best restaurant in town.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo make an exception of; to except.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Reserve in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchréservation (the act of reserving or keeping back…), réserve (restraint of freedom in words or actions), réserves (that which is reserved or kept back, as for…), réserver (to book in advance)
GermanReservieren, Bedenken, Vorbehalt (the act of reserving or keeping back…), Reserviertheit (restraint of freedom in words or actions), Reserve (that which is reserved or kept back, as for…), Schutzgebiet (known unexploited natural resource)
Portuguesereserva (the act of reserving or keeping back…), reservar (to keep back; to retain)
Spanishreserva (that which is reserved or kept back, as for…), reservar (to keep back; to retain)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does reserve come from?

From Old French reserver, from Latin reservō (“to reserve, retain”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after reserve