Definition of economics | Dictionary.com

[ ek-uh-nom-iks, ee-kuh- ]

/ ˌɛk əˈnɒm ɪks, ˌi kə- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR economics ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(used with a singular verb) the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind.

(used with a plural verb) financial considerations; economically significant aspects: What are the economics of such a project?

Origin of economics

First recorded in 1785–95; see origin at economic, -ics

Words nearby economics

economic sanctions, economic strike, economic zone, economical, economically, economics, economism, economist, economistic, economize, economizer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for economics

That is decidedly not to say that politics and economics are irrelevant.

No Gods, No Cops, No Masters|James Poulos|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Today many in the economics and urban planning professions consider such factors close to irrelevant.

The Rustbelt Roars Back From the Dead|Joel Kotkin, Richey Piiparinen|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even with my B.A. in English I can understand the economics involved: lots of cheap labor cheapens labor.

The Liberal Case Against Illegal Immigration|Doug McIntyre|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It seems to me that we are dealing with more than bottom-line economics and bottom-squeezing ergonomics.

Flying Coach Is the New Hell: How Airlines Engineer You Out of Room|Clive Irving|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The “stretched” cabins in new 737s and A320s transform their economics.

Flying Coach Is the New Hell: How Airlines Engineer You Out of Room|Clive Irving|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Our economics are false and mischievous, our aims are petty and low.

The Secret of a Happy Home (1896)|Marion Harland
In every college and university blind men should occupy chairs in history, English, economics, and mathematics.

Five Lectures on Blindness|Kate M. Foley
Here it is in the domain of economics just as shameless as in that of politics.

The German War|Arthur Conan Doyle
This conception of society altered men’s theories of economics, of history, of government.

Some Christian Convictions|Henry Sloane Coffin
The next move in economics is going to be the statement of a shrewd, dogged, realizable ideal.

Crowds|Gerald Stanley Lee

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British Dictionary definitions for economics

economics

/ (ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks, ˌɛkə-) /

noun

(functioning as singular) the social science concerned with the production and consumption of goods and services and the analysis of the commercial activities of a societySee also macroeconomics, microeconomics

(functioning as plural) financial aspectsthe economics of the project are very doubtful

Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for economics

economics

The science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of commodities.

notes for economics

Economics is generally understood to concern behavior that, given the scarcity of means, arises to achieve certain ends. When scarcity ceases, conventional economic theory may no longer be applicable. (See affluent society.)