adjective
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showing thrift; economical or frugal
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rare thriving or prospering
Synonym Usage
See frugal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overthriftinessnoun
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thriftinessnoun
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unthriftinessnoun
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overthriftyadjective
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unthriftyadjective
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overthriftilyadverb
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thriftilyadverb
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unthriftilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of thrifty
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; see origin at thrift, -y 1
Explanation
Being thrifty means being careful of your money and how you spend it. Think twice before you spend, but if you must shop, hitting the sales and using coupons are good ways to be thrifty. Note the similarity between the adjective thrifty and the verb thrive, and you'll realize that being careful with your money might be an important survival tactic. Everyone worries about having enough — look at how thrift shops have become important sources of clothing and other goods for many people, allowing them to buy without spending a fortune. Being thrifty is a solid virtue, as suggested by the old German proverb, "Prudent men woo thrifty women."
Vocabulary lists containing thrifty
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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"The Necklace" and "The Fashion Show"
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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:
Even as vacationers become more thrifty, inflation is still contributing to bigger trip budgets this year.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
The executive chef has to be thrifty to make it all work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
In keeping with this thrifty living, most of his exercise is done using free outdoor gyms, with his online followers holding him to account for that, too.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Google searches for “No Buy January” have hit a five-year high as Gen-Zers and millennials sign up for the thrifty challenge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
On small things I was thrifty enough; no expenditures on “carousing,” flashy clothes, or any of the other indulgences that are often smugly believed to undermine the budgets of the poor.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
While affluent Americans are getting thriftier on essentials, they are still spending on extras like wellness and travel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
But new survey data show that baby boomers — America’s richest generation and one often perceived as being thriftier those that followed — are more wasteful in certain spending categories than younger people.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
Maquiladoras brought jobs to Mexico and thriftier price points for cost-conscious consumers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2025
“Price hikes are accelerating particularly in food items, and household sentiment may turn more thriftier in coming months,” said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute.
From Reuters ● Oct. 7, 2022
When the war broke out there were about four million French families who owned their homes and a thriftier and more industrious people could hardly be found.
From Birdseye Views of Far Lands by James T. (James Thomas) Nichols
United already was one of the thriftiest spenders in MLS, and the latest belt-tightening left Olsen squeezing all he could out of a depleted roster.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2020
Goleta's customers are among the thriftiest with 55 gallons a day, compared the state average of 70 gallons, McInnes said.
From US News ● Aug. 19, 2016
The typical savings rate of the thriftiest cohort — aged 65 to 69 — topped out at 7.5 percent in 2005.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2015
Overnight I became the thriftiest person you’ve ever met—bar those people who split their toilet paper in half.
From Forbes ● Sep. 10, 2014
In manufacture and trade in the latter Middle Age, they stood far in the lead in northern Europe, Their towns and cities were the thriftiest, most prosperous, and most cleanly.
From A History of the Philippines by David P. Barrows
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
