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 health, time, and means and you will never beg.
From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson
How to Economize on Gas.—More gas is wasted in the oven than elsewhere.
From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson
There's not enough for this and that, Make thy option which of two; Economize the failing river, Not the less revere the Giver; Leave the many, and hold the few.
From Louisa May Alcott : Her Life, Letters, and Journals by Alcott, Louisa May
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.
