From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpreservativepre‧ser‧va‧tive /prɪˈzɜːvətɪv $ -ɜːr-/ noun [countable, uncountable] DFa chemical substance that is used to prevent things from decaying, for example food or wood food that contains no artificial preservatives
Examples from the Corpus
preservative• Throw them out over Akron or Denver, who needs the artificial flavors and preservatives?• The herrings and preservative had reacted together and produced a chemical which was poisonous to mink.• It acts as a glucose preservative by inhibiting glycolysis.• Her secret, she said, is all the preservatives in the junk foods she eats.• The Growtray is a simple timber box, that is treated with non-toxic preservatives.• The demand for food without preservatives is increasing.• Paper cartons of milk and tomatoes, packaged without preservatives or additives, just like their steel counterparts, are already here.• Apply a wood preservative that can be painted over or varnished afterwards.artificial preservatives• Full of fruit with no artificial preservatives or colourings, they taste just like home-made jam.• Some manufacturers are now producing juices with no artificial preservatives or added sugar - delicious and lower in calories too. 