economize
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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economizesimple
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economizessimple
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have economizedperfect
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has economizedperfect
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am economizingprogressive
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are economizingprogressive
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is economizingprogressive
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have been economizingperfect progressive
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has been economizingperfect progressive
Past
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economizedsimple
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had economizedperfect
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was economizingprogressive
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were economizingprogressive
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had been economizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of economize
Explanation
To economize is to be frugal — to be careful not to waste anything, including money. You may need to economize on heating oil, keeping the temperature in your apartment on the nippy side during the winter. Giving a kid an allowance is one way to teach her to economize, spending it carefully in an attempt to save some and make the rest last. Unless money is no object, most people need to economize to some extent, being frugal and avoiding waste. In the 17th century, to economize was "to govern a household," from economy, at the time "household management," from the Greek oikonomia, "household management or thrift."
Vocabulary lists containing economize
Night
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The Catcher in the Rye
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Before We Were Free
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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.
Economize on food by eating breakfast in your room or rental and packing picnic lunches.
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2023
Economize in other ways, not on good food and comfortable lodgings.
From Washington Post • Apr. 16, 2015
Economize your bow; make the very utmost of it that you possibly can.
From The Serapion Brethren. Vol. II by Hoffmann, Ernst Theordor Wilhelm
Economize your caresses, rule your passions so as never to make more promises than you can keep.
From Rambles in Womanland by O'Rell, Max
Economize on milk and cream except for children.
From Foods That Will Win The War And How To Cook Them (1918) by Goudiss, Alberta M. (Alberta Moorhouse)
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.
