economize
Americanverb (used without object)
-
economizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
-
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
-
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:
He pointed to resilient consumer spending, continued business investment, and rising productivity, while acknowledging pressure on lower-income households that are trading down and trying to economize.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 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
In France, we really had to economize how we shoot things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
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
The latter shape manifestly economizes labor in the manufacture and space in stowage, while it is hardly more liable than the former to waste by breakage.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine No. XVI.?September, 1851?Vol. III. by Various
He pictures to himself a home of his own, he economizes and saves money to send to his friends and family, or to return to his beloved land a person of importance.
From Races and Immigrants in America by John R. (John Rogers) Commons
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
The family economized, moving into smaller and smaller homes until late last year, when they finally had to move in with the mother of her partner.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 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
The truth is, that although they tell us to economize our time, they cannot, in the nature of things, instruct us as to the methods by which it is to be economized.
From The Intellectual Life by Philip Gilbert Hamerton
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
He doesn’t think economizing on lighting will dissuade tourists from coming to the city, which holds two Christmas markets that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2022
If you still need to make cuts, that’s where you may have to be strategic about economizing.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2022
Theresa’s salary was barely enough; they were economizing less stringently than before, but still had to watch their expenses.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
