conserve in WordNet English dictionary

1. fruit preserved by cooking with sugar
   conserve  preserve  conserves  preserves 
   

1. preserve with sugar
   "Mom always conserved the strawberries we grew in the backyard"
   conserve 
   
2. use cautiously and frugally
   "I try to economize my spare time"; "conserve your energy for the ascent to the summit"
   conserve  husband  economize  economise 
   
3. keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction
   "We preserve these archeological findings"; "The old lady could not keep up the building"; "children must be taught to conserve our national heritage"; "The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts"
   conserve  preserve  maintain  keep up 
   
4. keep constant through physical or chemical reactions or evolutionary change
   "Energy is conserved in this process"
   conserve