1. The production and consumption of goods and services of a community regarded as a whole.
2. The prudent managing of resources to avoid extravagant expenditure or waste.
3. A saving or attempt to reduce expenditure.
4. Originally, the management of a household.
5. Current usage is sometimes a reference to that which is intended to be less expensive or to give better value.

The basic notion contained in the word economy is “household management”. It comes from Greek oikonomia, by way of French or Latin, and means the "steward of a household". This was a compound noun formed from oikos, "house" and nemein, “manage”. The original sense "household management" was extended into English. It broadened out in the 17th century to the management of a nation's resources, while the use of the derivative economics for the theoretical study of the creation and consumption of wealth dates from the early 19th century.