Jevons

American  

[jev-uhnz] / ˈdʒɛv ənz /

noun

1. William Stanley, 1835–82, English economist and logician.

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Jevons British  

/ ˈdʒɛvənz /

noun

1. William Stanley. 1835–82, English economist and logician: introduced the concept of final or marginal utility in The Theory of Political Economy (1871)

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Example Sentences

“Focus is on Jevons paradox,” Jefferies equities-trading analyst Jeffrey Favuzza said in a Wednesday note, referring to the term for that phenomenon.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

As the English political economist William Stanley Jevons found out more than a century ago, the more efficient things become, the cheaper they get, and the more people can afford them.

From Slate • Nov. 26, 2022

Nineteenth-century thinkers like John Stuart Mill and William Stanley Jevons sought to simplify the complex behavior of people into what one critic called the "dollar-hunting animal."

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2020

"It's in a very desirable location," says estate agent Anthony Jevons from Jackson-Stops & Staff in Hale.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2015

Professor Jevons, Prof. Francis A. Walker, and other political economists of note have expressed approval of such a tabular standard for long-time contracts, as securing greater equity than would gold as a measure of values.

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 Jones, John P. (John Percival)