conservancy

noun

con·​ser·​van·​cy kən-ˈsər-vən(t)-sē How to pronounce conservancy (audio)
plural conservancies
1
British : a board regulating fisheries and navigation in a river or port
2
b
: an organization or area designated to conserve and protect natural resources

Examples of conservancy in a Sentence

The land was recently donated to a local conservancy. raising money for the conservancy of natural resources
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The conservancy will partner with the San Diego Bird Alliance for a Torrey Pines Photo Stroll at 7 a.m. Saturday, April 19, for bird watchers and photographers. Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2025 The conservancy currently owns about 208,000 acres across California, Oregon and Utah — the vast majority in California — where the preserve system sees more than 1.4 million people each year. Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2025 Earlier this month, Andrew Giacomini, a Marin lawyer, filed a complaint alleging that the National Park Service conspired with the Nature Conservancy to pay off ranchers to relinquish their rights to 20-year leases and instead lease the properties to the conservancy. Richard Halstead, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025 That began a race against the clock to find a temporary or permanent new location, said Susan Gibbs, the head of the conservancy and granddaughter of the ship’s designer. Isabelle Taft, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for conservancy

Word History

Etymology

Middle English conservancie "act of conserving or keeping safe," borrowed from Medieval Latin conservantia "conservation, office of a conservator," noun derivative of Latin conservant-, conservans, present participle of conservāre "to save or keep from danger, preserve, keep unchanged" — more at conserve entry 1

First Known Use

1667, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of conservancy was in 1667

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Conservancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conservancy. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!