1. Avoiding waste
   "a sparing father and a spending son"; "sparing in their use of heat and light";
   - economical, frugal, stinting

1. Refrain from harming
   "The conquering army spared the lives of the civilians";
   - save
    
2. Give up what is not strictly needed
   "he asked if they could spare one of their horses to speed his journey";
   - give up, part with, dispense with
    
3. Use frugally or carefully
   "We need to spare our resources during the drought"
    
4. Save or relieve from an experience or action
   "I'll spare you from having to apologize formally"

See also: thrifty

Type of: consume, deplete, eat, eat up, exempt, exhaust, expend, forbear, free, give, refrain, relieve, run through, use, use up, wipe out

Encyclopedia: Spare, Richard