cheap

[cheep]

adjective

cheaper, cheapest 

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

adverb

1. at a low price; at small cost.

   He is willing to sell cheap.

cheap

/ 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

noun

1. informal,  at a low cost

adverb

1. at very little cost

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheap¹

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”; chapman

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheap¹

Old English ceap barter, bargain, price, property; related to Old Norse kaup bargain, Old High German kouf trade, Latin caupō innkeeper

Idioms and Phrases

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.

More idioms and phrases containing cheap

• dirt cheap
• on the cheap

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The cheapest $50 membership gets you one bike pass for the year, along with free admission to the Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden, discounts on Catalina Island campsites and other perks.

From Los Angeles Times

India's hospitals are also popular destinations for medical tourists, offering cheaper treatments compared to Western countries.

From BBC

Customers say they feel "completely ripped off" after believing they were buying from independent boutiques in England but were delivered cheap clothes and jewellery, mass-shipped from warehouses in east Asia.

From BBC

It will mean UK cars and whisky will be cheaper to export to India, and Indian textiles and jewellery cheaper to export to the UK as part of the multi-billion pound trade boost.

From BBC

Tesla has unveiled cheaper models of two of its most popular cars in the US as it tries to boost sales on the heels of the expiration of a key US tax credit.

From BBC

Related Words

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