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

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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

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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

Some 93 percent of the cheap packages that arrived in Europe came from China, usually via popular Asian platforms such as AliExpress and Temu.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

It’s cheap, keeps beautifully in the refrigerator and demands almost no knife skills.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

That turned out to be a smart move during the decades when interest rates fell and debt got cheap.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Customers filed lawsuits claiming Bacelar was buying dogs on the cheap from breeders, then misrepresenting them as rescues and charging high adoption fees, The Times reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

It was one of those thin, cheap, neutral-colored folders people used in offices.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

It is also unclear whether transporting the prime minister, his security detail and officials by train or road transport from Manchester to Stansted would have been much cheaper.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Nor, he said, would the retailer’s AI shopping assistant, Sparky, use information customers shared to raise prices or conceal cheaper options.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

He advocates shifting to cheaper, food-grade systems like plastic tubs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

A digital trade deal allowing faster and cheaper online transactions is also expected to be unveiled in Montreal.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

It is actually cheaper to eat high-calorie, fatty, processed foods than whole foods.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

The cheapest petrol-powered car in his showroom costs more than $12,000, while the electric cars start at $9,000, making them an increasingly attractive choice.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

At those premiums, an aging hull is the cheapest ship to risk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

First-time buyers were facing average house prices equivalent to four-and-a-half times household income in Cardiff, compared with just over three-and-a-half times in Blaenau Gwent where houses were cheapest, according to the data.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Citi remains the cheapest of the six, with forward P/E of 10.4 and price/TBV of 1.3.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026

Lola had a habit of picking the cheapest kind.

From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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Related Words

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

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