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cheap out

British  

verb

  1. informal (intr, adverb) to take the cheapest option; try to do something as cheaply as possible

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We definitely did not cheap out at the end.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026

PowerA omitted impulse trigger rumble, but if there’s any feature to cheap out on, I’d say that’s the right choice.

From The Verge • May 25, 2022

Heaven is, in fact, a corporate cheap out of the ultimate mountain lodge vacation, full of technicolor fall foliage yet rife with algorithmic glitches, causing him to sometimes long for authentic death.

From Scientific American • Jul. 21, 2020

You certainly don’t want to cheap out on important products or materials, but there are ways to trim your budget without sacrificing the quality of the workmanship.

From Washington Post • Mar. 26, 2018

Human life has always been held cheap out here.

From In the Mahdi's Grasp by Speed, Lancelot