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

"These prices are astonishing - $2,030 for the cheapest final ticket is unacceptable," said Thomas Concannon, who leads the Football Supporters Association's England Fans' Embassy.

From BBC

One costs £15 and the other only £7.70, though the cheaper train takes 21 minutes longer.

From BBC

One reason for its appeal, they explain, is a cheaper high: multiple people can chip in for a single hit and share it among themselves.

From BBC

“As I get older, I want to make sure I’m around for my kids. But my insulin isn’t cheap, so thankfully, I have affordable healthcare right now, but I will be affected by these changes.”

From Los Angeles Times

And just this week, Newsom signed a bill that will allow gas stations to sell cheaper gas with 15% ethanol, even though state air regulators have not completed their review of the fuel.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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