Definition of: economy

(i·kon′ə·mē) noun plural ·mies
1. Disposition to save or spare; carefulness in outlay; freedom from extravagance or waste; frugality: economy of words, economy in dress.
2. Cheapness of operation, relative or absolute, as expressed in steam, fuel, or money.
3. The management of household matters: usually with a qualifying adjective: domestic economy.
4. Any practical system in which means are adjusted to ends, especially in the natural world: the economy of nature, the animal economy, the economy of a plant.
5. The practical adjustment, organization, or administration of affairs or resources, especially of industrial resources of a state: political economy.
6. A method of divine management of human affairs or a system of laws and regulations, rites, and ceremonies; specifically, any particular method of divine government: the Mosaic economy.
7. The handling and presentation of doctrine in a judicious manner. See syno nyms under FRUGALITY, LEGISLATION. [<L oeconomia <Gk. oikonomia <oikos house + nemein manage]