cheap

American  

[cheep] / tʃip /

adjective

• cheaper,
  comparative
• cheapest
  superlative

1. costing very little; relatively low in price; inexpensive.

   a cheap dress.

   Antonyms:

   expensive, dear, costly

2. costing little labor or trouble.

   Words are cheap.

3. charging low prices.

   a very cheap store.

4. of little account; of small value; mean; shoddy.

   cheap conduct; cheap workmanship.

   Synonyms:

   base, inferior, poor, low, paltry

5. embarrassed; sheepish.

   He felt cheap about his mistake.

6. obtainable at a low rate of interest.

   when money is cheap.

7. of decreased value or purchasing power, as currency depreciated due to inflation.

8. stingy; miserly.

   He's too cheap to buy his own brother a cup of coffee.

   Antonyms:

   charitable, generous

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adverb

1. at a low price; at small cost.

   He is willing to sell cheap.

idioms

1. cheap at twice the price, exceedingly inexpensive.

   I found this old chair for eight dollars—it would be cheap at twice the price.

2. on the cheap, inexpensively; economically.

   She enjoys traveling on the cheap.

cheap British  

/ tʃiːp /

adjective

1. costing relatively little; inexpensive; good value

2. charging low prices

   a cheap hairdresser

3. of poor quality; shoddy

   cheap furniture

   cheap and nasty

4. worth relatively little

   promises are cheap

5. not worthy of respect; vulgar

6. ashamed; embarrassed

   to feel cheap

7. stingy; miserly

8. informal mean; despicable

   a cheap liar

9. See chip

10. informal extremely inexpensive

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noun

1. informal at a low cost

adverb

1. at very little cost

cheap More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing cheap

• dirt cheap
• on the cheap

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Synonym Usage

Cheap, inexpensive agree in their suggestion of low cost. Cheap now usually suggests shoddiness, inferiority, showy imitation, complete unworthiness, and the like: a cheap kind of fur. Inexpensive emphasizes lowness of price (although more expensive than cheap ) and suggests that the value is fully equal to the cost: an inexpensive dress. It is often used as an evasion for the more specific cheap.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cheapness
  noun
• overcheapness
  noun
• cheapish
  adjective
• overcheap
  adjective
• cheapishly
  adverb
• cheaply
  adverb
• overcheaply
  adverb
• uncheaply
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• cheaper
  comparative
• cheapest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of cheap

First recorded before 900; Middle English cheep (short for phrases such as good cheep “cheap,” literally, “good bargain”), Old English cēap “bargain, market, trade”; cognate with German Kauf, Old Norse kaup; all from Latin caupō “innkeeper, tradesman”; see chapman

Explanation

Something cheap doesn't cost much money. But watch out, because cheap things are also often cheaply made. When prices are low, they're cheap: that's a good thing. However, this word is often an insult. Hitting someone who isn't looking is a cheap shot. Things that aren't very well made and use low-quality materials are cheap. When someone — especially a woman — is dressed in a trashy way, people say "You look cheap!" And if you have a stingy Uncle Scrooge in your family, you can call him cheap or even a cheapskate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cheap cheaper cheapest

This year, Europe started imposing duties on cheap parcels, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Travelling to Japan isn't cheap - return off-peak flights with a layover in China start at about £450 with a budget airline.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Meanwhile, Apple suppliers came to know Cook as a ruthless negotiator who was able to help secure components at cheap prices.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

As high-quality synthetic re-creations become cheap and accessible, cloning has become a more desirable option for studios struggling with runaway production costs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

In them, he saw a strong army of cheap labor.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

They sold a 2021 Mitsubishi car for $15,000 and bought a cheaper Prius that had good gas mileage for $8,000 in cash.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

The Flash model series is designed to be smaller, cheaper and faster to run, but lacks the power of the biggest models, which consist of trillions of numerical parameters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Despite bigger military budgets, younger defence firms still complain not enough is going towards autonomous systems compared to old-fashioned weaponry, like tanks, that is vulnerable to attack from cheaper drones.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

But the yen is weakening, making it cheaper for tourists when they're actually out there - even as rising prices hit residents.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

People also found it cheaper to feed corn to chickens and hogs.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Thames Water - one of the cheapest - charges £4.21 and Southern the most expensive at £7.06.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Ticket prices ranged from around $100 to almost $2,000, the cheapest of which sold out within hours.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

It remains among the cheapest AI model providers even after it raised prices on its V4 models earlier this month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Until someone does, the industry’s cheapest inference will be running on its least certain capital.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

Rivera where to find the cheapest hair salon and the best Goodwill and how to get to the nearest Western Union.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez

Related Words

• competitive
• economical
• low-cost
• low-priced
• reasonable