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economy

Definition of Economy

(noun) An institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services to individuals in a society.

Types of Economy

Economy Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: e·con·o·my

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /i-kAHn-uh-mee/
  • British English – /i-kOn-uh-mee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /iˈkɑnəmi/
  • British English – /i(ː)ˈkɒnəmi/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: economies
  • Also called an economic system.
  • An (noun) economist studies the economy by researching and interpreting (adjective) economic or (adjective) economical data.

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Additional Information

Related Terms

Works Consulted

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Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Cite the Definition of Economy

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “economy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved February 9, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/economy/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

economy. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/economy/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “economy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed February 9, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/economy/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“economy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/economy/>.