penny-pinching 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of penny-pinchingnext
as in careful
giving or sharing as little as possible the new CEO's penny-pinching ways have helped to keep the company out of bankruptcy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

penny-pinching

2 of 2

noun

ˈpe-nē-ˌpin-chiŋ How to pronounce penny-pinching (audio)
1
as in saving
careful management of material resources they'll have to practice some penny-pinching if they want to save for a house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in economy
the quality or practice of being overly sparing with money reusing your tea bags is perhaps taking penny-pinching too far

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of penny-pinching
Noun
The penny-pinching paid off in 2023, when Berry bought her two-bedroom, one-bath home in Charleston, Tennessee, a small town about 45 miles outside of Chattanooga. — Alex Veiga, Fortune, 20 May 2026 But for now, penny-pinching can be accomplished with relatively inconsequential basketball moves. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026 Some of these treats date as far back as the 1700s, while others were developed during the penny-pinching of the Great Depression or the liveliness of the 1950s. — Mack Swenson, Southern Living, 4 Dec. 2025 Everton have spent around £90million ($122m) so far this summer, a considerable departure from the days of penny-pinching towards the end of former owner Farhad Moshiri’s tenure. — Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penny-pinching
  1. careful
  2. saving
  3. economy
  4. selfish
  5. frugality
  6. economizing
  7. miserly
  8. thrift
Adjective
  • There’s that Japanese concept of space and pause—in the wide corridors, the uncluttered lobby, the careful symmetry.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The first step was to tailor it to her size, while being careful to preserve the bespoke construction.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of careful
Noun
  • But since daylight saving time has ended, enacting the law now would mean an immediate one-hour time jump forward across the country, barring changes to the legislation.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Millions of people across the United States gained an extra hour of sleep last night as daylight saving time ended for the year.
    — Amanda Callahan, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of saving
Noun
  • Tinderholt plans to lower property taxes, fully fund law enforcement, audit county government, grow the county economy and protect election integrity.
    — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Run by a Chilean nonprofit, Latinobarómetro measures views on a range of issues, including democracy, economy, security and immigration but also the influence of world powers like China and the United States.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of economy
Adjective
  • Anyone see any think pieces about how Reese is being selfish?
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The film follows an authoritarian regime who have set up a kind of survival game to choose the most selfish (and therefore best) soccer striker from 300 candidates, with the ultimate aim of winning Japan the World Cup.
    — John Bleasdale, Variety, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of selfish
Noun
  • Consider the late Queen Elizabeth II wearing chartreuse to stand out in a crowd, or Princess Anne signaling a paradoxical lesson in royal frugality by rewearing a 42-year-old dress.
    — Eva Wolchover, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Tom’s frugality also lured Nancy into the business on the pretense of spending more time together.
    — Tim Graham, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of frugality
Noun
  • There’s no doubt that there are wasteful contracts and bloated salaries to be cut, but not even the strictest economizing could absorb that much without serious danger to public health and safety.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Inflation continues to pressure consumers The holiday economizing comes as Americans continue to battle inflation, which rose after the COVID-19 pandemic to levels not seen since the 1980s.
    — Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Nov. 2025
Definition of economizing
Adjective
  • When not making inflammatory political statements, United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe is committed to a miserly mantra of cost-saving prudence.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The plot involves two sons of rich, miserly fathers in love with girls their fathers will never approve of and what happens when the fathers’ devious servants decide to give the boys a hand.
    — Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2026
Definition of miserly
Noun
  • Today’s online recommerce market, just like the thrift stores and consignment shops that came before it, was driven by shoppers looking for deals to save money.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Its thrift store is stocked with clothes and items collected during student move-outs when many items get left behind, including Halloween costumes and accessories.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of thrift

Browse Nearby Words

penny-pinchers
penny-pinching
penny-wise
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Penny-pinching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penny-pinching. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of wabi-sabi

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All