Reserve vs. Book — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on March 21, 2024
Reserve involves setting aside something for future use, often without specifics, while booking confirms specifics like time or place.
Difference Between Reserve and Book
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Reserve implies holding an item, space, or service for future use, emphasizing anticipation and preparation without immediate finalization. Whereas booking is a commitment, specifying details such as date, time, and conditions, highlighting a finalized arrangement.
Reserving is commonly used in contexts where specifics may not yet be determined or where flexibility is required. On the other hand, booking is definitive, often accompanied by a confirmation number or document, signaling closure on the arrangement.
When you reserve, there's usually an implication that details will be confirmed later, allowing for some level of uncertainty or change. Booking, however, typically locks in the details, making changes or cancellations subject to penalties or fees.
Reservations are often seen as a first step in planning, indicating intent rather than a concrete plan. In contrast, bookings are a final step, solidifying plans and often involving payment or a deposit.
The process of reserving can be informal and might not require immediate payment or confirmation. Meanwhile, booking is a more formal agreement, often requiring immediate payment or at least the provision of payment information.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
To hold or set aside for future use.
To make arrangements for a service, seat, room, etc., at a future time.
Specificity
Less specific, may not include detailed arrangements.
Highly specific, includes detailed arrangements like time and place.
Commitment Level
Lower, with flexibility for changes.
Higher, often with penalties for changes or cancellations.
Formality
Can be informal, often without immediate financial commitment.
More formal, typically involves immediate financial commitment.
Context
Broad usage across various contexts without immediate details.
Specific usage in contexts requiring detailed arrangements.
Compare with Definitions
Reserve
To withhold or save for a particular purpose or time.
She reserves her best wine for special occasions.
Book
To arrange for a seat, room, etc., to be kept for one's use.
They booked a hotel room for their vacation.
Reserve
To set aside for future use.
They decided to reserve a table at the restaurant for next weekend.
Book
To hire or engage services.
They booked a band for the wedding reception.
Reserve
To preserve a condition or area.
This area is reserved for wildlife conservation.
Book
In law, to record the charges against a suspect.
The officer booked him for speeding.
Reserve
To hold back or refrain from using.
He reserved his opinion until he heard all the facts.
Book
To schedule an appointment or event.
She booked a hair salon appointment for Saturday.
Reserve
In sports, to keep a player on the team but not in the main lineup.
The coach reserved him for the second half of the match.
Book
To register or record something in a formal or official way.
The librarian books new arrivals every Tuesday.
Reserve
To keep back, as for future use or for a special purpose
The hospital reserves certain drugs for the most serious cases.
Book
A written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers
A book of selected poems
Reserve
To set or cause to be set apart for a particular person or use
Reserved a seat on the next flight out.
Book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arrangement is codex (plural, codices).
Reserve
Something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose
A runner with a reserve of energy for the final lap.
Book
A bound set of blank sheets for writing in
An accounts book
Reserve
An amount of capital that is not invested or otherwise used in order to meet probable demands, such as withdrawals by bank depositors or claims on insurance policies.
Book
A set of tickets, stamps, matches, samples of cloth, etc., bound together
A pattern book
Reserve
Lack of enthusiasm, as from a misgiving or doubt
Supported the idea without reserve.
Book
Reserve (accommodation, a place, etc.); buy (a ticket) in advance
Book early to avoid disappointment
I have booked a table at the Swan
Reserve
Self-restraint in expression or bearing; reticence or coolness
Maintained a dignified reserve throughout the ceremony.
Book
Make an official note of the personal details of (a person who has broken a law or rule)
The cop booked me and took me down to the station
Reserve
A reservation of public land
A forest reserve.
Book
Leave suddenly
They just ate your pizza and drank your soda and booked
Reserve
An amount of a mineral, fossil fuel, or other resource known to exist in a particular location and to be exploitable
The discovery of large oil reserves.
Book
A set of written, printed, or blank pages fastened along one side and encased between protective covers.
Reserve
A fighting force kept uncommitted until strategic need arises.
Book
An e-book or other electronic resource structured like a book.
Reserve
The part of a country's armed forces not on active duty but subject to call in an emergency.
Book
A printed or written literary work
Did you ever finish writing that book?.
Reserve
A member of either of these forces
The army's active reserves.
Book
A main division of a larger printed or written work
A book of the Old Testament.
Reserve
A group of players that play only as substitutes for starters in games or are kept from playing for some reason.
Book
A volume in which financial or business transactions are recorded.
Reserve
One of these players.
Book
Books Financial or business records considered as a group
Checked the expenditures on the books.
Reserve
Held in or forming a reserve
A reserve supply of food.
Book
A libretto.
Reserve
(behaviour) Restriction.
Book
The script of a play.
Reserve
The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception.
The book is on reserve.
Book
The Bible.
Reserve
Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior.
Book
The Koran.
Reserve
That which is reserved or kept back, as for future use.
Book
A set of prescribed standards or rules on which decisions are based
Runs the company by the book.
Reserve
A natural resource known to exist but not currently exploited.
New oil reserves are continuously being discovered, but not as fast as the existing ones are running out.
Book
Something regarded as a source of knowledge or understanding.
Reserve
A tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose
The Connecticut Reserve in Ohio was originally set apart for the school fund of Connecticut.
The Clergy Reserves in Canada are for the support of the clergy.
Book
The total amount of experience, knowledge, understanding, and skill that can be used in solving a problem or performing a task
We used every trick in the book to finish the project on schedule.
Reserve
(Canada) A tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group; Indian reserve (compare US reservation.)
Book
(Informal) Factual information, especially of a private nature
What's the book on him?.
Reserve
(military) A body of troops kept in the rear of an army drawn up for battle, reserved to support the other lines as occasion may require; a force or body of troops kept for an exigency.
Book
A pack of like or similar items bound together
A book of matches.
Reserve
Funds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements.
Book
A record of bets placed on a race.
Reserve
A reserve price in an auction.
Book
(Games) The number of card tricks needed before any tricks can have scoring value, as the first six tricks taken by the declaring side in bridge.
Reserve
Wine held back and aged before being sold.
Book
To arrange for or purchase (tickets or lodgings, for example) in advance; reserve.
Reserve
(ceramics) Absence of color or decoration; the state of being left plain.
Book
To arrange a reservation, as for a hotel room, for (someone)
Book me into the best hotel in town.
Reserve
(social) Something initially kept back for later use in a recreation.
Book
To hire or engage
Booked a band for Saturday night.
Reserve
(sports) A member of a team who does not participate from the start of the game, but can be used to replace tired or injured team-mates.
Book
To list or register in a book
Booked the revenue from last month's sales.
Reserve
(card games) A group or pile of cards dealt out at the beginning of a patience or solitaire game to be used during play.
Book
To list or record appointments or engagements in
A calendar that was booked solid on Tuesday.
Reserve
In exhibitions, a distinction indicating that the recipient will get a prize in the event of another person being disqualified.
Book
To record information about (a suspected offender) after arrest in preparation for arraignment, usually including a criminal history search, fingerprinting, and photographing.
Reserve
(calico printing) A resist.
Book
(Sports) To record the flagrant fouls of (a player) for possible disciplinary action, as in soccer.
Reserve
A preparation used on an object being electroplated to fix the limits of the deposit.
Book
To designate a time for; schedule
Let's book a meeting for next month.
Reserve
To keep back; to retain.
We reserve the right to make modifications.
Book
To be hired for or engaged in
The actor has booked his next movie with that director.
Reserve
To keep in store for future or special use.
This cake is reserved for the guests!
Book
To make a reservation
Book early if you want good seats.
Reserve
To book in advance; to make a reservation.
I reserved a table for us at the best restaurant in town.
Book
(Informal) To move or travel rapidly
We booked along at a nice clip.
Reserve
(obsolete) To make an exception of; to except.
Book
Of or relating to knowledge learned from books rather than actual experience
Has book smarts but not street smarts.
Reserve
To keep back; to retain; not to deliver, make over, or disclose.
Book
Appearing in a company's financial records
Book profits.
Reserve
Hence, to keep in store for future or special use; to withhold from present use for another purpose or time; to keep; to retain; to make a reservation{7}.
Hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble?
Reserve your kind looks and language for private hours.
Book
A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
She opened the book to page 37 and began to read aloud.
He was frustrated because he couldn't find anything about dinosaurs in the book.
Reserve
To make an exception of; to except.
Book
A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such as a novel or textbook, and typically published as such a bound collection of sheets, but now sometimes electronically as an e-book.
I have three copies of his first book.
Reserve
The act of reserving, or keeping back; reservation.
However any one may concur in the general scheme, it is still with certain reserves and deviations.
Book
A major division of a long work.
Genesis is the first book of the Bible.
Many readers find the first book of A Tale of Two Cities to be confusing.
Reserve
That which is reserved, or kept back, as for future use.
The virgins, besides the oil in their lamps, carried likewise a reserve in some other vessel for a continual supply.
Book
(gambling) A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).
I'm running a book on who is going to win the race.
Reserve
That which is excepted; exception.
Each has some darling lust, which pleads for a reserve.
Book
(informal) A bookmaker (a person who takes bets on sporting events and similar); bookie; turf accountant.
Reserve
A tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose; as, the Connecticut Reserve in Ohio, originally set apart for the school fund of Connecticut; the Clergy Reserves in Canada, for the support of the clergy.
Book
A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.
A book of stamps
A book of raffle tickets
Reserve
A body of troops in the rear of an army drawn up for battle, reserved to support the other lines as occasion may require; a force or body of troops kept for an exigency.
Book
(theatre) The script of a musical or opera.
Reserve
Funds kept on hand to meet liabilities.
Book
Records of the accounts of a business.
Reserve
That part of the assets of a bank or other financial institution specially kept in cash in a more or less liquid form as a reasonable provision for meeting all demands which may be made upon it;
Book
A book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).
Reserve
In exhibitions, a distinction which indicates that the recipient will get a prize if another should be disqualified.
Book
(whist) Six tricks taken by one side.
Reserve
A resist.
Book
(poker slang) Four of a kind.
Reserve
A preparation used on an object being electroplated to fix the limits of the deposit.
Book
(sports) A document, held by the referee, of the incidents happened in the game.
Reserve
Formality and propriety of manner
Book
A list of all players who have been booked (received a warning) in a game.
Reserve
Something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose
Book
(cartomancy) The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.
Reserve
An athlete who plays only when another member of the team drops out
Book
(figurative) Any source of instruction.
Reserve
(medicine) potential capacity to respond in order to maintain vital functions
Book
(with "the") The accumulated body of knowledge passed down among black pimps.
Reserve
A district that is reserved for particular purpose
Book
A portfolio of one's previous work in the industry.
Reserve
Armed forces that are not on active duty but can be called in an emergency
Book
(transitive) To reserve (something) for future use.
I want to book a hotel room for tomorrow night.
I can book tickets for the concert next week.
Reserve
The trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary
Book
(transitive) To write down, to register or record in a book or as in a book.
They booked that message from the hill
Reserve
Hold back or set aside, especially for future use or contingency;
They held back their applause in anticipation
Book
(transitive) To add a name to the list of people who are participating in something.
I booked a flight to New York.
Reserve
Give or assign a share of money or time to a particular person or cause;
I will earmark this money for your research
Book
To record the name and other details of a suspected offender and the offence for later judicial action.
The police booked him for driving too fast.
Reserve
Obtain or arrange (for oneself) in advance;
We managed to reserve a table at Maxim's
Book
(sports) To issue a caution to, usually a yellow card, or a red card if a yellow card has already been issued.
Reserve
Arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance;
Reserve me a seat on a flight
The agent booked tickets to the show for the whole family
Please hold a table at Maxim's
Book
To travel very fast.
He was really booking, until he passed the speed trap.
Reserve
Not engaged in military action
Book
To record bets as bookmaker.
Reserve
Kept in reserve especially for emergency use;
A reserve supply of food
A spare tire
Spare parts
Book
To receive the highest grade in a class.
The top three students had a bet on which one was going to book their intellectual property class.
Book
To leave.
He was here earlier, but he booked.
Book
A collection of sheets of paper, or similar material, blank, written, or printed, bound together; commonly, many folded and bound sheets containing continuous printing or writing.
Book
A part or subdivision of a treatise or literary work; as, the tenth book of "Paradise Lost."
Book
A volume or collection of sheets in which accounts are kept; a register of debts and credits, receipts and expenditures, etc.; - often used in the plural; as, they got a subpoena to examine our books.
Book
Six tricks taken by one side, in the game of bridge or whist, being the minimum number of tricks that must be taken before any additional tricks are counted as part of the score for that hand; in certain other games, two or more corresponding cards, forming a set.
Book
A written version of a play or other dramatic composition; - used in preparing for a performance.
Book
A set of paper objects (tickets, stamps, matches, checks etc.) bound together by one edge, like a book; as, he bought a book of stamps.
Book
A book or list, actual or hypothetical, containing records of the best performances in some endeavor; a recordbook; - used in the phrase one for the book or one for the books.
Book
The set of facts about an athlete's performance, such as typical performance or playing habits or methods, that are accumulated by potential opponents as an aid in deciding how best to compete against that athlete; as, the book on Ted Williams suggests pitching to him low and outside.
Book
Same as book value.
Book
The list of current buy and sell orders maintained by a stock market specialist.
Book
The purchase orders still outstanding and unfilled on a company's ledger; as, book to bill ratio.
Book
To enter, write, or register in a book or list.
Let it be booked with the rest of this day's deeds.
Book
To enter the name of (any one) in a book for the purpose of securing a passage, conveyance, or seat; to reserve{2}; also, to make an arrangement for a reservation; as, to be booked for Southampton; to book a seat in a theater; to book a reservation at a restaurant.
Book
To mark out for; to destine or assign for; as, he is booked for the valedictory.
Here I am booked for three days more in Paris.
Book
To make an official record of a charge against (a suspect in a crime); - performed by police.
Book
A written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together);
I am reading a good book on economics
Book
Physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together;
He used a large book as a doorstop
Book
A record in which commercial accounts are recorded;
They got a subpoena to examine our books
Book
A number of sheets (ticket or stamps etc.) bound together on one edge;
He bought a book of stamps
Book
A compilation of the known facts regarding something or someone;
Al Smith used to say, `Let's look at the record'
His name is in all the recordbooks
Book
A major division of a long written composition;
The book of Isaiah
Book
A written version of a play or other dramatic composition; used in preparing for a performance
Book
A collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made;
They run things by the book around here
Book
The sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina
Book
The sacred writings of the Christian religions;
He went to carry the Word to the heathen
Book
Record a charge in a police register;
The policeman booked her when she tried to solicit a man
Book
Arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance;
Reserve me a seat on a flight
The agent booked tickets to the show for the whole family
Please hold a table at Maxim's
Book
Engage for a performance;
Her agent had booked her for several concerts in Tokyo
Book
Register in a hotel booker
Common Curiosities
Is it better to reserve or book a hotel?
It depends on your need for flexibility. Booking guarantees your stay with specific details, while reserving might offer more flexibility with less commitment.
Can you reserve a hotel room without paying?
Yes, some hotels allow you to reserve a room without immediate payment, expecting payment at a later date or upon arrival.
Is booking the same as renting?
Booking is the process of making a reservation, often for a specific time period, whereas renting refers to the actual use of an item or service for a period in exchange for payment.
Can I cancel a reservation without a fee?
Cancellation policies vary, but reservations often have more flexible cancellation terms than bookings, which may involve fees.
What's the difference between booking and pre-booking?
Pre-booking is making arrangements well in advance, often before something is officially available, while booking is securing your arrangement closer to the date of use.
Why do some services require a deposit to book?
Deposits are often required as a security measure to ensure that the customer is committed and to cover potential losses from cancellations.
Can I book a rental car with a debit card?
Policies vary by rental company, but many require a credit card for booking to ensure payment security.
Can I reserve a library book online?
Many libraries offer online systems for reserving books, allowing you to hold a book for pickup.
How far in advance can I book a flight?
Airlines typically allow bookings up to 11 months in advance, but this can vary.
What does it mean to reserve judgment?
To reserve judgment means to withhold forming an opinion until all evidence or facts are presented.
What does it mean to book a flight?
Booking a flight means securing a seat on a specific flight on a specific date, usually requiring immediate payment or a deposit.
How do I reserve a table at a restaurant?
You can reserve a table by contacting the restaurant directly, either through a phone call or an online reservation system, if available.
Do I need to confirm my reservation before arrival?
It's a good practice to confirm your reservation, especially for accommodations or services, to ensure all details are correct and secure.
Is a booking confirmation important?
Yes, a booking confirmation serves as proof of your arrangement and includes important details like date, time, and terms.
What happens if I don't show up for my booking?
No-show policies vary, but you may lose your deposit or be charged a fee, depending on the service provider's policy.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
