frugal

adjective fru·gal \ ˈfrü-gəl \

Definition of frugal

:characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources

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frugality

play \frü-ˈga-lə-tē\ noun

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frugally

play \ˈfrü-gə-lē\ adverb

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Examples of frugal in a Sentence

His meals are the frugal fare of the poor: tea, bread, yogurt, a bit of cheese, vegetables. —Johanna McGeary, Time, 25 Oct. 2004
Like frugal cooks everywhere, Cajun cooks from generations past found plenty of ways to use every part of the animals they raised. —Jeremy Sauer, Cook's Country, June 1995
In a frugal white frame house of tiny rooms that shook with every passing freight train, five boys of German immigrant background had grown up at the turn of the twentieth century. —Robert D. Kaplan, An Empire Wilderness, 1988
a frugal meal of bread and cheese
by being frugal, the family is able to stretch its monthly budget

Recent Examples of frugal from the Web

Leaders of the most frugal districts have long complained that they were essentially punished over time with lower revenue limits than districts that were spending more in 1993 and given higher revenue limits.

— jason stein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Budget committee votes to increase Wisconsin school funding by $639 million over two years," 28 Aug. 2017
RENEWED COMMITMENT For years, the athletic department and the university looked for ways to avoid stepping up and investing in the football program, opting for a more frugal approach – from coaching salaries to support personnel.

— mike carmin, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville vs. Purdue 2017 | Five things to know about Purdue," 28 Aug. 2017
Some municipal leaders saw it as a sign that cities and towns that had been frugal would be penalized by greater cuts in state education aid.

— russell blair, courant.com, "Malloy: Towns Will Find Out This Month If State Education Aid Is Cut," 11 Aug. 2017
Despite ratings that are similar to the Volvo, the XC90 fared much better on our 200-mile highway test, while the frugal Acura MDX topped them both.

— mike sutton, Car and Driver, "2017 Audi Q7," 19 July 2017
Consumers often keep things without sentimental value out of a desire to be frugal.

— CNN, "The life-changing science of photographing your clutter," 17 July 2017
This is an easy option for patient and frugal shoppers.

— kim komando, Fox News, "9 ways to score Amazon Prime at a discount," 8 July 2017
Individuals can use the same $100 to buy drugs, feed a frugal family for a week, buy a designer scarf or give it to God in an offering plate.

— james hudnut-beumler, Washington Post, "Why cash remains sacred in American churches," 6 July 2017
Or maybe one spouse is frugal, while the other’s a spendthrift.

— abby hayes, USA TODAY, "Pros and cons of sharing your finances as a married couple," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'frugal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

frugal Has Surprising Roots

Those who are frugal are unwilling to (lavishly) enjoy the fruits of their labors, so it may surprise you to learn that frugal ultimately derives from the Latin frux, meaning "fruit" or "value," and is even a distant cousin of the Latin word for "enjoy" (frui). The connection between fruit/value and restraint was first made in Latin; the Middle French word that English speakers eventually adopted as frugal came from the Latin adjective frugalis, a frux descendant meaning "virtuous" or "frugal." Although English speakers adopted frugal by the early 17th century, they were already lavishly supplied with earlier coinages to denote the idea, including sparing and thrifty.