Synonyms of penny-pinching

penny-pinching 1 of 2

adjective

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

• careful
• selfish
• miserly
• greedy
• tightfisted
• parsimonious
• penurious
• cheap
• pinching
• stingy
• tight
• ungenerous
• close
• chintzy
• mean
• economical
• uncharitable
• mingy
• sparing
• spare
• desirous
• thrifty
• frugal
• conserving
• stinting
• saving
• economizing
• small
• pinchpenny
• avaricious
• closefisted
• mercenary
• acquisitive
• covetous
• scrimping
• rapacious
• shabby
• chary
• sordid
• grudging
• skimping
• avid
• resentful
• hoggish
• begrudging
• envious
• itchy
• grasping
• inhospitable
• coveting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generous
• liberal
• charitable
• unstinting
• munificent
• bountiful
• bounteous
• altruistic
• openhanded
• unsparing
• unselfish
• selfless
• extravagant
• lavish
• free
• handsome
• benevolent
• overgenerous
• philanthropic
• hospitable
• humanitarian
• profuse
• freehanded
• beneficent
• magnanimous
• compassionate
• kindly
• spendthrift
• profligate
• wasteful
• unthrifty
• openhearted
• wasting
• prodigal
• good-hearted
• thriftless
• dissipating
• greathearted
• splurging
• squandering
• frittering

penny-pinching

2 of 2

noun

ˈpe-nē-ˌpin-chiŋ 

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

• saving
• economy
• frugality
• thrift
• scrimping
• parsimony
• skimping
• providence
• husbandry
• prudence
• temperance
• conservation
• stinginess
• miserliness
• belt-tightening
• retrenchment
• moderation
• restraint
• discretion
• austerity
• forehandedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wastefulness
• extravagance
• improvidence
• lavishness
• prodigality
• squandering
• diseconomy

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

• economy
• economizing
• saving
• cheapness
• stinginess
• miserliness
• pinching
• parsimony
• tightness
• providence
• cheeseparing
• managing
• frugality
• penuriousness
• conserving
• thrift
• closeness
• conservation
• tightfistedness
• husbanding
• scrimping
• skimping
• husbandry

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generosity
• liberality
• philanthropy
• bounty
• largesse
• extravagance
• unselfishness
• lavishness
• dissipation
• bountifulness
• wastefulness
• openhandedness
• improvidence
• prodigality
• openheartedness
• squandering

Example Sentences

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