conservatory

noun

con·​ser·​va·​to·​ry kən-ˈsər-və-ˌtȯr-ē 

plural conservatories

1

: a greenhouse for growing or displaying plants

2

: a school specializing in one of the fine arts

a music conservatory

Synonyms

• glasshouse [chiefly British]
• greenhouse
• hothouse

Examples of conservatory in a Sentence

the Peabody Conservatory of Music

the college's conservatory is entirely devoted to cultivating and displaying orchids

Recent Examples on the Web

At Cascade in Lakeshore East, residents can spend their time in a conservatory, lush with green plants indoors and a walkway lined with rocks that feels like walking through a park. —Caleb McCullough, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2025

In addition to the orchids that typically grow in the garden’s conservatory, displays will include plants on loan from private growers belonging to two local groups — the San Diego County Orchid Society and the Palomar Orchid Society — as well as orchids and materials from local businesses. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 May 2025

The garden will replace delphiniums and carnations on display in the conservatory in late spring with begonias and zinnias in the summer, and chrysanthemums and asters in the fall. —Jane L. Levere, New York Times, 20 May 2025

The film, which debuted in the Berlin in 2024, is set in Venice at the end of the 1700s and revolves around an orphanage and music conservatory for girls, where the young charges are trained to the highest standard but denied the right to shine in the wider world. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin conservātōrium "something that preserves" (Medieval Latin, "fish pond"), from Latin conservāre "to save or keep from danger, preserve" + -tōrium, suffix of places (from neuter of -tōrius, deverbal adjective suffix originally forming derivatives from agent nouns ending in -tōr-, -tor); (sense 2) after Italian conservatorio, originally denoting a home for foundlings and orphans who were given a musical education — more at conserve entry 1

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

conservatory

noun

con·​ser·​va·​to·​ry kən-ˈsər-və-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

plural conservatories

1

: a greenhouse for growing or displaying plants

2

: a place of instruction in some special study (as music)