Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Careful, thrifty management of resources, such as money, materials, or labor.
  • noun An example or result of such management; a saving.
  • noun The system or range of economic activity in a country, region, or community.
  • noun A specific type of economic system.
  • noun An orderly, functional arrangement of parts; an organized system.
  • noun Efficient, sparing, or conservative use.
  • noun The least expensive class of accommodations, especially on a commercial conveyance, such as an airplane.
  • noun Theology The method of God's government of and activity within the world.
  • adjective Economical or inexpensive to buy or use.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The management, regulation, or supervision of means or resources; especially, the management of the pecuniary or other concerns of a household: as, you are practising bad economy; their domestic economy needs reform.
  • noun Hence A frugal and judicious use of money, material, time, etc.; the avoidance of or freedom from waste or extravagance in the management or use of anything; frugality in the expenditure or consumption of money, materials, etc.
  • noun Management, order, or arrangement in general; the disposition or regulation of the parts or functions of any organic whole; an organized system or method: as, the internal economy of a nation; the economy of the work is out of joint.
  • noun Specifically— The provisions of nature for the generation, nutrition, and preservation of animals and plants; the regular, harmonious system in accordance with which the functions of living animals and plants are performed: as, the animal economy; the vegetable economy.
  • noun The functional organization of a living body: as, his internal economy is badly deranged.
  • noun The regulation and disposition of the internal affairs of a state or nation, or of any department of government.
  • noun Management; control.
  • noun In theology: The practical measures employed in giving effect to a divine dispensation.
  • noun The cautious presentation of doctrine, accommodating it to the feelings and prejudices of the hearers: used by J. H. Newman to describe the accommodated method (κατ)οἰκονομίαν) of the early fathers; in a bad sense, the system of withholding a large portion of gospel doctrine in teaching the mass of Christians.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The management of domestic affairs; the regulation and government of household matters; especially as they concern expense or disbursement.
  • noun Orderly arrangement and management of the internal affairs of a state or of any establishment kept up by production and consumption; esp., such management as directly concerns wealth.
  • noun The system of rules and regulations by which anything is managed; orderly system of regulating the distribution and uses of parts, conceived as the result of wise and economical adaptation in the author, whether human or divine
  • noun Thrifty and frugal housekeeping; management without loss or waste; frugality in expenditure; prudence and disposition to save.
  • noun See under Political.
  • noun See economy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Effective management of the resources of a community or system.
  • noun Collective focus of the study of money, currency and trade, and the efficient use of resources.
  • noun Frugal use of resources.
  • noun The system of production and distribution and consumption. The overall measure of a currency system; as the national economy.
  • noun theology The method of divine government of the world.
  • noun archaic Management of one’s residency.
  • adjective Cheap to run; using minimal resources; representing good value for money.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the efficient use of resources
  • noun frugality in the expenditure of money or resources
  • noun the system of production and distribution and consumption
  • noun an act of economizing; reduction in cost

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English yconomye, management of a household, from Latin oeconomia, from Greek oikonomiā, from oikonomos, manager of a household : oikos, house; see weik- in Indo-European roots + nemein, to allot, manage; see nem- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin oeconomia, from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomia, "management of a household, administration"), from οἶκος (oikos, "house") + νόμος (nomos, "law") (surface analysis eco- + -nomy). The first recorded sense of the word economy, found in a work possibly composed in 1440, is “the management of economic affairs”, in this case, of a monastery.

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Examples

  • The only closed economy is the world economy, and if a U.S. default drives a rethink of all investment in government debt around the world, the “closed economy” will thrive as limited capital flows to the enterprising instead of the profligate.

    Learn To Love A U.S. Default 2010

  • Balance sheets are your gurus. lisagreen As turnaround continues, June chip sales point to tech economy recovery cheekygeeky Between 'Liars Poker' (1989) and 'Fiasco' (1997), anyone who didn't see this derivatives bubble bursting wasn't looking very hard. #economy ptiperson "In this world, with an economy that for most families requires two working adults, students recognize ...

    Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 2009

  • "The term economy comes from the Greek word, `home.'"

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2012

  • "The term economy comes from the Greek word, `home.'"

    The Seattle Times 2012

  • "The term economy comes from the Greek word, `home.'"

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2012

  • The decline in "economy" is especially troubling, from 3rd in 2003 to 12th this year.

    Assuring Canada's Place in the Transforming Global Economy 2006

  • The uncertain economy is making employers increasingly picky, economists and job seekers report.

    This Week: Mortgage Mess, Chilean Glory, Ask and Tell 2010

  • Adam Smith or David Ricardo rarely used the term "economy" alone.

    Christopher Holshek: London Calling Christopher Holshek 2011

  • Adam Smith or David Ricardo rarely used the term "economy" alone.

    Christopher Holshek: London Calling Christopher Holshek 2011

  • They are addressed to a nomadic tribe whose main economy is primitive agriculture and whose wealth is sometimes counted in people as well as animals.

    Religion 2010

  • If dirt or waste are, as the refrain goes, “matter out of place,” then champions of the “circular economy” — as opposed to the extractive “linear” economy, where “take, make, waste” is the norm — seek to keep matter in place and in play, through reuse, repair, and recycling materials.

    Unwanted Corkpull — Real Life Kelly Pendergrast 2023

  • The term sharing economy has many synonyms and near-synonyms, like gig economy, peer economy, collaborative economy, grassroots economy, and mesh economy.

    The Sharing Economy Was Dead on Arrival | JSTOR Daily Catherine Halley 2019

  • In our current economy, we take materials from the Earth, make products from them, and eventually throw them away as waste – the process is linear. In a circular economy, by contrast, we stop waste being produced in the first place.The circular economy is based on three principles, driven by design:Eliminate waste and pollutionCirculate products and materials (at their highest value)Regenerate natureIt is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy and materials. A circular economy decouples economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. It is a resilient system that is good for business, people and the environment.

    Circular economy introduction - Overview 2023

  • The term sharing economy has many synonyms and near-synonyms, like gig economy, peer economy, collaborative economy, grassroots economy, and mesh economy.

    The Sharing Economy Was Dead on Arrival | JSTOR Daily Catherine Halley 2019

  • The term sharing economy has many synonyms and near-synonyms, like gig economy, peer economy, collaborative economy, grassroots economy, and mesh economy.

    The Sharing Economy Was Dead on Arrival | JSTOR Daily Catherine Halley 2019

  • The term sharing economy has many synonyms and near-synonyms, like gig economy, peer economy, collaborative economy, grassroots economy, and mesh economy.

    The Sharing Economy Was Dead on Arrival | JSTOR Daily Catherine Halley 2019

  • The term sharing economy has many synonyms and near-synonyms, like gig economy, peer economy, collaborative economy, grassroots economy, and mesh economy.

    The Sharing Economy Was Dead on Arrival | JSTOR Daily Catherine Halley 2019

  • The term sharing economy has many synonyms and near-synonyms, like gig economy, peer economy, collaborative economy, grassroots economy, and mesh economy.

    The Sharing Economy Was Dead on Arrival | JSTOR Daily Catherine Halley 2019

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  • The idea was that when faced with abundance one should consume abundantly—an idea that has survived to become the basis of our present economy. Wendell Berry "A Native Hill"

    July 19, 2008