Definition of "economize" []

• To practice economy, as by avoiding waste or reducing expenditures. (verb-intransitive)
• To make economical use of something: "The best that can be said for this method is that it economizes on thought” ( Christopher Hitchens). (verb-intransitive)
• To use or manage with thrift: the need to economize scarce energy resources. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I don't think it's completely unreasonable to balk at the cost of college, as your co-blogger has, but I doubt the right way to economize is to sneak into the lectures."
• ""People are learning how to conserve and economize, which is a great thing because we have been a wasteful society.""
• "Certainly some male friends complain that their wives don't know the meaning of the word "economize" but most of my female friends are not that stupid."