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

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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

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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

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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
  • Apply the serum directly to sparse areas of your brows, being careful to avoid letting the product touch other areas of your skin.
    — Iman Balagam, Vogue, 27 Aug. 2026
  • According to the researchers, careful process design and optimization as well as architecture simplification could help in solving most of these issues, something that industrial production focuses on much more than academic researchers.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of careful
Noun
  • But many specialists argue that permanent standard time, not permanent daylight saving time, would be the healthier option.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
  • MediaMarkt Spain has cut the standard iPhone 17 256GB to €919, down from €959, a 4% saving.
    — Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of saving
Noun
  • Wichai Yuankham, 35, a factory worker who came to watch the ships arrive, said the naval visit was a welcome boost to the local economy.
    — Mosheh Gains, NBC news, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Everest of safety tests Meanwhile China, already the world’s largest manufacturing economy, announced its new power-bank safety standards earlier this year, and sent travelers and supply chains scrambling.
    — Alison J. Stein, HubSpot, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of economy
Adjective
  • Steve Bova, another friend and former director of the international division at Systematics, recalled how Steuri was anything but selfish.
    — Dylan Sherman, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
  • But the most terrifying characters are the broken, vain, selfish parents who in one way or another cause their children so much harm.
    — Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of selfish
Noun
  • His frugality has been well-documented, and his refusal to treat Blazers operations like an NBA team rather than an NHL one is concerning.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • Warren Buffett, whose fortune tops $150 billion, has long embraced frugality.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 7 July 2026
Definition of frugality
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
  • The already rich reap the most, though the thin spreading of payments means the payouts are relatively miserly for the game’s elite.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 21 July 2026
Definition of miserly
Noun
  • The online consignment and thrift store and resale-as-a-service (Raas) provider’s annual report offers insights into how consumers and brands perceive the secondhand market.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Any items that meet a thrift store’s donation criteria should be in clean working order with all of the parts, including the power cord, included.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of thrift

Browse Nearby Words

penny-pinchers
penny-pinching
penny-wise
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Cite this Entry

“Penny-pinching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penny-pinching. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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