economical — ec‧o‧nom‧i‧cal [ˌekəˈnɒmɪkl, ˌiː ǁ ˈnɑː ] adjective using time, money, goods etc carefully and without wasting any: • Adults generally watch a movie on video once or twice, making it more economical to rent than buy. • Environmentalists insist… … Financial and business terms
economical — [ē΄kə näm′i kəl, ek΄ə näm′i kəl] adj. 1. not wasting money, time, fuel, etc.; thrifty [an economical person, an economical stove] 2. expressed or done with economy, as by using few words [an economical style] 3. of economics; economic SYN.… … English World dictionary
economical — ► ADJECTIVE 1) giving good value or return in relation to the resources used or money spent. 2) sparing in the use of resources or money. ● economical with the truth Cf. ↑economical with the truth DERIVATIVES economically adverb … English terms dictionary
economical — [adj1] conservative with resources; careful avaricious, canny, chary, circumspect, close, closefisted, cost effective, curmudgeonly, efficient, frugal, meager, mean, methodical, miserly, money saving, niggardly*, on the rims*, parsimonious, penny … New thesaurus
economical — 1570s, pertaining to household management; from ECONOMIC (Cf. economic) + AL (Cf. al) (1). Meaning pertaining to political economy is from 1781; that of thrifty is from 1780. Related: Economically … Etymology dictionary
economical — frugal, thrifty, *sparing Analogous words: prudent, provident (see under PRUDENCE): close, cheeseparing, parsimonious, penurious (see STINGY) Antonyms: extravagant Contrasted words: lavish, prodigal, exuberant, *profuse … New Dictionary of Synonyms
economical */ — UK [ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk(ə)l] / UK [ˌekəˈnɒmɪk(ə)l] / US [ˌɪkəˈnɑmɪk(ə)l] / US [ˌekəˈnɑmɪk(ə)l] adjective Get it right: economical: People often confuse economic and economical. Use economical to describe methods, products, machines etc that are not… … English dictionary
economical — ec|o|nom|i|cal [ ,ikə namıkl, ,ekə namıkl ] adjective * 1. ) not spending or costing much money: It would be more economical to switch the machine off at night. the most economical way to run your new business a ) used about something that is not … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
Economical — Economic E co*nom ic (?; 277), Economical E co*nom ic*al, a. [F. [ e]conomique, L. oeconomicus orderly, methodical, Gr. ? economical. See {Economy}.] 1. Pertaining to the household; domestic. In this economical misfortune [of ill assorted… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
economical — [[t]i͟ːkənɒ̱mɪk(ə)l, e̱k [/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: oft ADJ to inf, it v link ADJ to inf Something that is economical does not require a lot of money to operate. For example a car that only uses a small amount of petrol is economical. ...plans to trade … English dictionary
