Definition of "conservation" []

• The act or process of conserving. (noun)
• Preservation or restoration from loss, damage, or neglect: manuscripts saved from deterioration under the program of library conservation. (noun)
• The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and of natural resources such as forests, soil, and water. (noun)
• The maintenance of a physical quantity, such as energy or mass, during a physical or chemical change. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term conservation was first applied to water resources."
• "Gentlemen, conservation is a word that has wide application and meaning, but in the last five years it has become a hackneyed, much-abused term, glibly used by many who hunt and fish, few of whom have any idea what the word means or what it entails."
• "Among his other favorite places are Cuba's Zapata Swamp, which he described as a conservation triumph."