conservation - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Conservation is when you keep something from running out — whether it's plants, animals, or resources. Your new conservation project, "Save the Pigeons," might not catch on as quickly as you'd hoped.

Conservation is closely related to preservation. Both are positive words that give an impression of care and attention. Your habit of never leaving the couch might sound more impressive if you refer to it as "energy conservation."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: conservation

1	n	the preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources
2	n	an occurrence of improvement by virtue of preventing loss or injury or other change
3	n	(physics) the maintenance of a certain quantities unchanged during chemical reactions or physical transformations

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: conservation

1

n the preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; conservancy
the official conservation of trees and soil and rivers etc.; soil conservation
protection of soil against erosion or deterioration; oil conservation
the conservation of petroleum resources; water conservation
the conservation of water resources

Type of:: preservation, saving
the activity of protecting something from loss or danger

2

n an occurrence of improvement by virtue of preventing loss or injury or other change

Synonyms:: preservation

Type of:: advance, betterment, improvement
a change for the better; progress in development

3

n (physics) the maintenance of a certain quantities unchanged during chemical reactions or physical transformations

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; conservation of charge, conservation of electricity
the principle that the total electric charge of a system remains constant despite changes inside the system; conservation of energy, first law of thermodynamics, law of conservation of energy
the fundamental principle of physics that the total energy of an isolated system is constant despite internal changes; conservation of mass, conservation of matter, law of conservation of mass, law of conservation of matter
a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system; conservation of momentum
the principle that the total linear momentum in a closed system is constant and is not affected by processes occurring inside the system; conservation of parity, mirror symmetry, parity, space-reflection symmetry
(physics) parity is conserved in a universe in which the laws of physics are the same in a right-handed system of coordinates as in a left-handed system

Type of:: principle
a basic truth or law or assumption