What does reservation mean?
A reservation usually means an advance arrangement to keep a place or provide a service for someone at a later time, as in booking a table, room, train seat, or performance. In more formal contexts, a reservation can instead be a qualification or concern attached to an agreement, proposal, or recommendation: accepting an idea “with reservations” indicates qualified approval. In legal usage, a reservation of rights records or preserves claims that would otherwise be affected by an agreement. A further North American sense refers to an area of land reserved for the exclusive use of an Indigenous nation. The word therefore ranges from everyday travel and dining language to diplomacy, law, and the history and present status of Indigenous peoples. Its usefulness lies in this range of meanings: the same term can describe both a practical booking and the deliberate limiting of agreement or recognition.
An arrangement to keep a place, service, or resource for someone's use at a specified time.
"I booked a table and made a reservation for eight o'clock."
This sense is common in everyday British, American, and Canadian English.
A qualification, limitation, or expression of doubt attached to a statement or agreement.
"The committee approved the report with reservations about its cost."
This use is especially common in formal, legal, and diplomatic contexts.
A formal preservation of specified rights, claims, or objections.
"The settlement was executed subject to the parties' reservation of rights."
This sense is chiefly used in legal and institutional language.
An area of land set aside for the exclusive use of an Indigenous people.
"The reservation is home to a federally recognized Indigenous nation."
This sense is especially associated with the United States and Canada.
The plural is used for multiple bookings, qualifications, legal preservations, or geographically distinct areas reserved for Indigenous use.
"They made several reservations for dinner before deciding on a restaurant."
In North America, a reservation can be a place as well as a booking: the term describes land set aside for the exclusive use of an Indigenous nation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reservation come from?
The word comes through Old French from Latin reservatio, a noun derived from reservare, meaning “to keep back, save, or preserve.” The Latin family includes forms such as reservare, which developed into English reserve and reserved. Modern senses associated with advance bookings developed as the central idea of keeping a place or resource was applied to hotels, restaurants, and other services.
Related word forms
How reservation is actually used
In British, American, and Canadian English, the booking sense is common. The Indigenous-land sense is especially associated with the United States and Canada. In legal and diplomatic contexts, a reservation of rights preserves a claim or objection without necessarily renouncing the broader agreement.
Easily confused with reservation
A reservation is an advance arrangement or a stated qualification, whereas a reservoir is a natural or artificial body of stored water.