economize
Americanverb (used without object)
-
economizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
economized,
past participle, past
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economizing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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economizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
economized,
past participle, past
-
economizing
present participle
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
-
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
-
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.
See Examples For:
Banks would economize on their reserve holdings and, in turn, depend less on reserves.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
“Our strategy is to economize on the less important stuff but never save money on the stuff that really matters,” said Terekh, who used to run a company manufacturing furniture for Ukraine’s middle class.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
Even if some consumers are feeling skittish about Thanksgiving, experts are quick to point out there are always ways to economize for the holiday.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 14, 2025
Another way couples economize on weddings is to have that dream destination wedding, knowing that some people just won’t go.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2024
Mother had spent a good bit of money buying us new outfits so that we would make a good impression in California, and she thought she ought to economize on train accommodations.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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
If the workman of the towns be not successful, he guesses the reason; he seeks a remedy, he looks forward, he economizes.
From The Roman Question by Edmond About
The man in a rude state has very rude instruments; he therefore wastes his force: the man in a civilized state has very perfect ones; he therefore economizes it.
From Knowledge is Power: A View of the Productive Forces of Modern Society and the Results of Labor, Capital and Skill. by Charles Knight
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
“I think in an economized and puritanical world that is putting a priority on reason, to do something nonsensical is a strong and life-affirming experience, which puts everything in perspective.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2015
"The turkey would better have economized his meat this time," said the boy, swinging round his belt to lift the lid of his powder-horn and peep gloatingly in at the reinforced stores.
From The Story of Old Fort Loudon by Mary Noailles Murfree
Dollar stores aren’t the only retail option when it comes to economizing on Easter spending.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
The pilot programs have taken different approaches to economizing.
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
Pappus of Alexandria declared that bees “possessed a divine sense of symmetry,” and Charles Darwin described the honeycomb as a masterpiece of engineering that is “absolutely perfect in economizing labor and wax.”
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2015
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
