adjective
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showing thrift; economical or frugal
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rare thriving or prospering
Synonym Usage
See frugal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overthriftinessnoun
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thriftinessnoun
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unthriftinessnoun
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overthriftyadjective
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unthriftyadjective
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overthriftilyadverb
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thriftilyadverb
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unthriftilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of thrifty
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; see origin at thrift, -y 1
Explanation
Being thrifty means being careful of your money and how you spend it. Think twice before you spend, but if you must shop, hitting the sales and using coupons are good ways to be thrifty. Note the similarity between the adjective thrifty and the verb thrive, and you'll realize that being careful with your money might be an important survival tactic. Everyone worries about having enough — look at how thrift shops have become important sources of clothing and other goods for many people, allowing them to buy without spending a fortune. Being thrifty is a solid virtue, as suggested by the old German proverb, "Prudent men woo thrifty women."
Vocabulary lists containing thrifty
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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"The Necklace" and "The Fashion Show"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her thrifty calculus helps explain the trouble circling Whirlpool, America’s appliance-making giant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
In keeping with this thrifty living, most of his exercise is done using free outdoor gyms, with his online followers holding him to account for that, too.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Fairly early in his lengthy investment career, in the mid-1960s, this thrifty son of Yorkshire, England, grew besotted with speculative small-cap stocks.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
Here are some other thrifty gifting tips from experts:
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 19, 2025
The thrifty man had gathered up the bits of gouged-out wood and taken them home.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
While affluent Americans are getting thriftier on essentials, they are still spending on extras like wellness and travel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
But new survey data show that baby boomers — America’s richest generation and one often perceived as being thriftier those that followed — are more wasteful in certain spending categories than younger people.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
Maquiladoras brought jobs to Mexico and thriftier price points for cost-conscious consumers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2025
Starting last year, rising interest rates and inflation made advertisers thriftier, undermining the sales and profit of Google and its peers Snap and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2023
There nivver was a better or thriftier holder o' Hallam.
From The Hallam Succession by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
United already was one of the thriftiest spenders in MLS, and the latest belt-tightening left Olsen squeezing all he could out of a depleted roster.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2020
Goleta's customers are among the thriftiest with 55 gallons a day, compared the state average of 70 gallons, McInnes said.
From US News ● Aug. 19, 2016
Overnight I became the thriftiest person you’ve ever met—bar those people who split their toilet paper in half.
From Forbes ● Sep. 10, 2014
At just over two hours, with intermission, it’s certainly the thriftiest “Threepenny Opera” I’ve yet seen.
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2014
It is a small city, but the thriftiest and most business-like to be found in Spain when its size is considered.
From Due West or Round the World in Ten Months by Maturin Murray Ballou
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
