Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A greenhouse, especially one in which plants are arranged aesthetically for display, as at a botanical garden.
  • noun A school of music or dramatic art.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having the quality of preserving from loss, decay, or injury.
  • noun pl. conservatories (-riz).
  • noun A preservative.
  • noun A place for preserving or carefully keeping anything, as from loss, decay, waste, or injury; specifically, and commonly, a greenhouse for preserving exotics and other tender plants
  • noun A place of public instruction and training, designed to promote the study of some branch of Science or art.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete That which preserves from injury.
  • noun A place for preserving anything from loss, decay, waste, or injury; particulary, a greenhouse for preserving exotic or tender plants.
  • noun A public place of instruction, designed to preserve and perfect the knowledge of some branch of science or art, esp. music.
  • adjective Having the quality of preserving from loss, decay, or injury.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective rare pertaining to conservation
  • noun obsolete That which preserves from injury.
  • noun A greenhouse or hothouse for the display of plants
  • noun A school of music or drama; a conservatoire

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a greenhouse in which plants are arranged in a pleasing manner
  • noun the faculty and students of a school specializing in one of the fine arts
  • noun a schoolhouse with special facilities for fine arts

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

conserve +‎ -atory

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Examples

  • House was its _conservatory_, which was probably the finest in the country, second only in beauty to the famous conservatory of the Duke of

    City Crimes or Life in New York and Boston George Thompson

  • At 4.5 acres (indoors!), the conservatory is the largest extant glasshouse in North America.

    01.04 M-mv 2004

  • At 4.5 acres (indoors!), the conservatory is the largest extant glasshouse in North America.

    Archive 2004-02-01 M-mv 2004

  • At 4.5 acres (indoors!), the conservatory is the largest extant glasshouse in North America.

    More Chicago stuff (if you non-residents can Bear it) M-mv 2004

  • At 4.5 acres (indoors!), the conservatory is the largest extant glasshouse in North America.

    01.04 M-mv 2004

  • At 4.5 acres (indoors!), the conservatory is the largest extant glasshouse in North America.

    01.04 M-mv 2004

  • At 4.5 acres (indoors!), the conservatory is the largest extant glasshouse in North America.

    02.04 M-mv 2004

  • He builds what he calls a conservatory in the back garden, but in reality it's a jerry-built shed with windows.

    Broken Music, A Memoir Sting 2003

  • So you see building a conservatory is just like being a supervisor on uniform patrol … on April 6, 2009 at 6: 25 pm | Reply frank

    You Have Mistaken Me For Someone Else « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

  • Inspector - as the man says - piano in conservatory?

    You Have Mistaken Me For Someone Else « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

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