thrift
Americannoun
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economical management; economy; frugality.
My father valued thrift, hard work, and self-sufficiency.
Memories of her thrift and capability inspire me.
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Also called thrift institution. Banking. a savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union.
To help the thrifts survive, Congress deregulated the industry, lifting restrictions on the kinds of loans they could make.
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Also called sea pink. any alpine and maritime plant belonging to the genus Armeria, of the leadwort family, having pink or white flowers, especially A. maritima, noted for its vigorous growth.
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any of various similar or related plants.
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vigorous growth, as of a plant.
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Obsolete. prosperity.
verb (used with object)
noun
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wisdom and caution in the management of money
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Also called: sea pink. any of numerous perennial plumbaginaceous low-growing plants of the genus Armeria, esp A. maritima, of Europe, W Asia, and North America, having narrow leaves and round heads of pink or white flowers
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rare vigorous thriving or growth, as of a plant
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a building society, savings bank, or credit union
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an obsolete word for prosperity
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of thrift
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Old Norse: “well-being, prosperity”; cf. thrive
Explanation
Thrift means being very careful about how much money you spend. Reusing the same tea bag ten times so as not to waste money is a kind of thrift. The word thrift originally referred to fortune and has come to mean the act of being economical; a thrifty person, or someone who practices thrift, is likely to be fortunate in the sense that he has savings. At a thrift store, you will find inexpensive clothing. You probably don’t want to exercise thrift when deciding on something important, like which brain surgeon to use. You may also find thrift on sunlit mountaintops, in the form of a slender-leaved plant with pink flowers.
Vocabulary lists containing thrift
30 GRE Words Beginning with "T" "U" "V" and "W"
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The Bluest Eye
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The Merchant of Venice
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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.
Federal employees have access to the Thrift Savings Plan, which includes a government match and very low-cost index funds.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Federal workers have Thrift Savings Plans, which offer access to low-fee funds that invest in stocks and U.S.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026
Thrift stores, estate sales, Buy Nothing groups, and yes, the occasional free table are full of these low-stakes invitations.
From Salon • Dec. 20, 2025
One upside to online resale is easy access to information about past transactions, says Virginia Chamlee, author of “Big Thrift Energy.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025
In the six months following the news of its troubles with the Federal Reserve and the Office of Thrift Supervision, Capital One’s stock traded in a narrow band around $30 a share.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
