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
Words Nearby cheap
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cheap in a sentence
At the $99,900 price, it’s certainly not cheap—but it’s on-par with the entry-level Porsche Taycan, which starts just above $100,000 and goes way up from there.
Audi’s e-Tron GT charges up fast, but turns even faster | Stan Horaczek | February 10, 2021 | Popular-ScienceThe best cheap vest will fit comfortably and offer multiple heat zones and temperature adjustments.
Best heated vest: Beat the cold weather with the right winter gear | PopSci Commerce Team | February 9, 2021 | Popular-ScienceStratton Oakmont would buy certain stocks cheap and talk up their value to unsuspecting investors — the “pump.”
Twenty-Six Words Created the Internet. What Will It Take to Save It? | Stephen Engelberg | February 9, 2021 | ProPublicaBest cheap all-in-one printer under $100It can be challenging to find a good all-in-one printer for under $100.
Best all-in-one printer: Upgrade your home office with these multitasking machines | Carsen Joenk | February 8, 2021 | Popular-ScienceOrdinarily, “gold filled” jewelry is similar to gold-plated — a cheaper metal coated with a thick layer of gold.
How the Police Bank Millions Through Their Union Contracts | by Andrew Ford, Asbury Park Press, and Agnes Chang, Jeff Kao and Agnel Philip, ProPublica | February 8, 2021 | ProPublica
In doing so he exposed the failure of other airlines in the region to see the huge pent-up demand for cheap travel.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501 | Clive Irving | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBetrayal…you can hear it…betraying the thing he loves for a cheap bit of film publicity.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTRiffing off the slogan “Now Everyone Can Fly,” the carrier offered no-frills flights that were both cheap and plentiful.
The Presumed Crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Is Nothing Like MH370 | Lennox Samuels | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPaper and cloth are cheap, what people are paying for is the story.
Glenn Beck Is Now Selling Hipster Clothes. Really. | Ana Marie Cox | December 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWas Che anything more than a cheap karaoke of what he stood for?
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind | Brin-Jonathan Butler | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTcheap as they are, they are a poorer speculation than even corner lots in a lithographic city of Nebraska or Oregon.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyIn 1205 wheat was worth 12 pence per bushel, which was cheap, as there had been some years of famine previous thereto.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellSome cheap food was presented to the printer in the shape of potatoes, with which his windows were smashed.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellIn the early sixties a cheap edition appeared, and cheap editions were rare things then.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowShe was dressed in her brightest skirt and fairly shone with the abundance of cheap jewelry she wore.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton Wade
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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