Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - economic

~ adj 1 only before noun connected with trade, industry, and the management of money  (strategies to promote economic growth | It makes no economic sense at all! | economic climate (=conditions affecting trade, industry, and business)) 2 an economic process, activity etc produces enough profit for it to continue; profitable  (It is no longer economic for us to run the service. | an economic price)  (- see economic)  ( USAGE NOTE: ECONOMIC WORD CHOICE economy, economic, economics, economical, cheap, economically The adj of the word economy , meaning the economy of a country is economic government measures to boost the economy | the various economies of South America | We are faced with a deepening economic crisis (NOT economical).| economic growth/benefits/problems/policy The study of economies and their money systems is called economics He's got a degree in Modern History and Economics (NOT economic or economy).| Economics is my favorite subject (NOT are my favorite subject). The adj economical relates to the word economy (sense 2 ) meaning the careful use of money, a supply of something, effort etc that avoids any waste My new car is quite economical (=cheap to run).| She was brought up to be economical with the housekeeping money (=spend it carefully). Something that is economical is not necessarily cheap . For example it may be more economical to buy a packet of soap powder that is twice the usual size, because even though it costs more than the small packet, it does not cost twice the amount. However, sometimes people who sell things call cheap things economical simply because this word sounds better. The adv of both economic and economical is economically The country is not economically stable. | You can live here quite economically. )