cheapen
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make cheap or cheaper.
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to lower in esteem; bring into contempt.
Constant swearing cheapened him.
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to decrease the quality or beauty of; make inferior or vulgar.
She cheapened the dress by adding a fringe to it.
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Archaic. to bargain for.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become lower in reputation, quality, etc; degrade or be degraded
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to make or become cheap or cheaper
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cheapen
1555–65; cheap + -en 1; replacing Middle English chepen (> obsolete English cheap (v.)) to price, bargain, Old English cēapian to bargain, trade, buy; cognate with Old Norse kaupa, Gothic kaupōn, German kaufen
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.
That didn’t bother the Heat, nor did it cheapen the achievement for Adebayo.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
The Japanese government doesn’t want its currency to cheapen dramatically; that makes it more expensive for Japanese citizens to buy what they need.
From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026
But the bad vibes of “Artificial Angels” persist, not just because the name does what it can to cheapen Grimes’ 2015 masterwork “Art Angels,” which sees its tenth anniversary hit this very month.
From Salon • Nov. 7, 2025
“So why — when you have this amazing megaphone and this amazing ability to communicate — why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2024
Finally he spoke the three simple words that no amount of bad art or bad faith can ever quite cheapen.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
