affordable

American  

[uh-fawr-duh-buhl] / əˈfɔr də bəl /

adjective

1. that can be afforded; believed to be within one's financial means.

   attractive new cars at affordable prices.

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noun

1. Usually affordables. items, expenses, etc., that one can afford.

   a variety of affordables for your gift list.

Usage

What does affordable mean? If something is affordable, it means its price is low enough that you (or most people) have enough money to buy it. Affordable is the adjective form of the verb afford. If you can afford something, you have enough money to pay for it. Much less commonly, affordable can be used as a noun meaning an item that one can afford. Example: Rachel wants to buy a luxury car, but with her budget I think she should consider a more affordable option.

Other Word Forms

• affordability
  noun
• affordably
  adverb
• unaffordability
  noun
• unaffordable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of affordable

First recorded in 1865–70; afford + -able

Explanation

If something is affordable, it's priced reasonably, and you have enough money to buy it. Your friends might be jealous that the bike you bought at a yard sale was so affordable. If you live in an affordable city, it means that rents aren't too high for most of its residents, and if you buy an affordable dinner for yourself, it doesn't cost too much. The adjective affordable can either mean "cheap," or it can imply that even if it's expensive, you have enough money to easily buy it. The verb afford is at the root, and its earliest meaning was "accomplish." Gradually, afford came to have the meaning "manage to buy."

Example Sentences

Treasury debt more affordable, would be the government taking its entire stock of Treasury debt, which holds an average coupon of 4%, and drop it to 1%, bringing interest expenses down 75% “overnight.”

From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026

The chain has been doubling down on value meals and other low-cost menu items, striving to reclaim its reputation for affordable food.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Fifa did introduce a small number of "more affordable" £45 tickets for all 104 matches following criticism of its pricing structure after the initial release of tickets.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

In 1970, he bought the Channel 17 television station in Atlanta, competing with local network affiliates by airing old movies whose rights were affordable and picking up programming dropped by the less nimble competition.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

At the time the photo was taken, we were living across the hall from my father’s parents in Parkway Gardens, an affordable housing project on the South Side made up of modernist apartment buildings.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• cheap
• economical