cheap
costing very little; relatively low in price; inexpensive: a cheap dress.
costing little labor or trouble: Words are cheap.
charging low prices: a very cheap store.
of little account; of small value; mean; shoddy: cheap conduct; cheap workmanship.
embarrassed; sheepish: He felt cheap about his mistake.
obtainable at a low rate of interest: when money is cheap.
of decreased value or purchasing power, as currency depreciated due to inflation.
stingy; miserly: He's too cheap to buy his own brother a cup of coffee.
at a low price; at small cost: He is willing to sell cheap.
Idioms about cheap
cheap at twice the price, exceedingly inexpensive: I found this old chair for eight dollars—it would be cheap at twice the price.
on the cheap, Informal. inexpensively; economically: She enjoys traveling on the cheap.
Origin of cheap
1synonym study For cheap
Other words for cheap
Opposites for cheap
Other words from cheap
- cheapish, adjective
- cheap·ish·ly, adverb
- cheaply, adverb
- cheapness, noun
- o·ver·cheap, adjective
- o·ver·cheap·ly, adverb
- o·ver·cheap·ness, noun
- un·cheap·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cheap in a sentence
There is, of course, cheapness to be considered -- the dollar per kilogram bill for putting a payload into low earth orbit.
Up to a Point: A 'Space Corvette' in Every Garage | P. J. O’Rourke | September 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn fact, its cheapness is the main thing that palm oil has going for it.
Our Taste for Cheap Palm Oil Is Killing Chimpanzees | Carrie Arnold | July 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDuring the recession and the recovery, fast-food more than held its own because of its sheer cheapness.
Burger King Introduces Big King to Taunt McDonald’s and Stagnating Overall Sales | Daniel Gross | November 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTI am frugal to the point of cheapness—when out to dinner with friends, I used to contribute only for the dishes I had ordered.
In and of itself the monopoly price corresponds to the monopolist's profit and not to cheapness of sale.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
The facility of manufacture and cheapness of those engines caused them to be much used in the mines, and also elsewhere.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickProvisions are of unexampled cheapness, and the means of obtaining them are—thank Almighty God!
The cheapness of these conveyances caused them to be largely patronized by blue-jackets.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries | Charles G. HarperThe merit of the simple suspension bridge is its cheapness, and its defect is its flexibility.
British Dictionary definitions for cheap
/ (tʃiːp) /
costing relatively little; inexpensive; good value
charging low prices: a cheap hairdresser
of poor quality; shoddy: cheap furniture; cheap and nasty
worth relatively little: promises are cheap
not worthy of respect; vulgar
ashamed; embarrassed: to feel cheap
stingy; miserly
informal mean; despicable: a cheap liar
cheap as chips See chip (def. 11)
dirt cheap informal extremely inexpensive
on the cheap British informal at a low cost
at very little cost
Origin of cheap
1Derived forms of cheap
- cheapish, adjective
- cheaply, adverb
- cheapness, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with cheap
In addition to the idioms beginning with cheap
- cheap at twice the price
- cheap shot
- cheap skate
also see:
- dirt cheap
- on the cheap
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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