economize

American  

[ih-kon-uh-mahyz] / ɪˈkɒn əˌmaɪz /

especially British, economise

verb (used without object)

• economizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• economized,
  past participle,  past
• economizing
  present participle

1. to practice economy; avoid waste or extravagance.

   Synonyms:

   husband, conserve, save

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verb (used with object)

• economizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• economized,
  past participle,  past
• economizing
  present participle

1. to manage economically; use sparingly or frugally.

   Synonyms:

   husband, conserve, save

economize British  

/ ɪˈkɒnəˌmaɪz /

verb

1. (often foll by on) to limit or reduce (expense, waste, etc)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• economization
  noun
• uneconomizing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• economizing
  present
• economized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• economize
  simple
• economizes
  simple
• have economized
  perfect
• has economized
  perfect
• am economizing
  progressive
• are economizing
  progressive
• is economizing
  progressive
• have been economizing
  perfect progressive
• has been economizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• economized
  simple
• had economized
  perfect
• was economizing
  progressive
• were economizing
  progressive
• had been economizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will economize
  simple
• will have economized
  perfect
• will be economizing
  progressive
• will have been economizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of economize

First recorded in 1640–50; econom(y) + -ize

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

economize economizes economized economizing

Or perhaps, if you can sense that coming, you could economize your care a few years in, so that you can stretch the funds further.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

That’s an area of discretionary spending where consumers tend to economize first, Faucher says.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

“Once you get this intense level of demand for these goods in a given geographic region, it makes sense to essentially establish a stocking location nearby to economize on transportation costs,” Miller said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

You figure out what wording makes this joke concise, how to economize with words instead of overtalking, like I’m doing right now.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2025

Our principle was to economize, to save for tomorrow.

From "Night" by Elie Wiesel

Monique Louvigny, an event coordinator in the San Francisco Bay Area, economizes where she can.

From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2024

Even laboratory mice, if deprived of food, can enter a state called torpor, a kind of standby mode that economizes energy.

From New York Times ● May 25, 2023

“That’s one of the reasons why he’s a pretty effective leader — it’s because he economizes words,” said Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff for Mr. McConnell who remains close to him.

From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2018

Among the common people, it is she who economizes, she who watches carefully over all and corrects the failings, the passionate and impulsive acts, the discouragements, so frequent with the husband.

From The Sexual Question A Scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study by Auguste Forel

He economizes, he deprives himself of all the comforts of life, he labours without rest or intermission, that he may have a fine funeral!

From Celebrated Women Travellers of the Nineteenth Century by W. H. Davenport Adams

She began with an incisive reading of Webern’s Six Pieces for Orchestra, keeping her conducting elegantly restrained, even economized — gestures that befitted this sharply angled, brief set.

From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2024

Jewison economized by having his cinematographer use a hand-held camera instead of fancier equipment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

Jane and Maria economized and traded on their fame by making lengthy sojourns in the homes of the wealthy patrons they cultivated.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 25, 2022

There may be no more tiny, fragile body than Charlie Brown’s—the abbreviated torso, economized limbs, and naked, vulnerable head.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 6, 2019

Whatever amounts of money are economized by means of those institutions bring compensation, by way of interest, to the banks.

From Money: Speech of Hon. John P. Jones, of Nevada, On the Free Coinage of Silver; in the United States Senate, May 12 and 13, 1890 by John P. (John Percival) Jones

Dollar stores aren’t the only retail option when it comes to economizing on Easter spending.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026

Peter Wood, president of the conservative National Association of Scholars, said economizing academic programs to focus more on employment creates a different experience for three-year students.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

Consumers have so far absorbed higher prices, but analysts fear they could start economizing if higher prices persist too long.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2021

But elsewhere in the world, people began buying cheaper phones and economizing on minutes, often via pay-as-you-go schemes.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2016

I walked over to Madison Avenue and started to wait around for a bus because I didn't have hardly any money left and I had to start economizing on cabs and all.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• conserve
• cut down
• scrimp