to keep something as it is, esp. in order to prevent it from decaying or to protect it from being damaged or destroyed:

To preserve food is to treat it in a particular way so it can be kept for a long time without going bad:

[ C ] an activity that only one person or a particular type of person does or is responsible for:

[ C ] an area of land kept in its natural state, esp. for hunting and fishing or for raising animals and fish:

[ C usually pl ] fruit cooked with sugar: