cheapskate
Americannoun
-
cheapskates
plural
verb (used without object)
noun
Usage
What does cheapskate mean? A cheapskate is a person who doesn’t like to give or spend money—someone who’s stingy. Cheapskate is a very informal word that’s always used in a negative way, as an insult. Example: Some cheapskate left me a quarter and two pennies as a tip today.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cheapskate
Explanation
A cheapskate is someone who is tight with money. Cheapskates will do anything to avoid spending a buck. Some people spend too much money: they're always picking up the check and running up their credit cards. Other people are the opposite: a cheapskate is cheap, meaning they avoid spending money to an extreme degree. Cheapskates don't leave tips when they eat out. Cheapskates don't buy things they need, even when they have the money. Cheapskates would never lend or give money, and they hate spending money on gifts. A cheapskate can also be called a miser or a tightwad.
Vocabulary lists containing cheapskate
The Lemonade War
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Okay for Now
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Ralph S. Mouse
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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.
See Examples For:
It’s partly the cheapskate middle-class advice columnist in me, and it’s partly due to where you are in your life.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026
I’m glad I can finally allow my cheapskate self to pay someone for house repairs that require climbing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
Let’s raise a glass to the cheapskate of the sky, the judge seemed to say—the everyman of the flying world, the great equalizer of the skies.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2024
In this case, however, Southwest’s cheapskate culture was its savior.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024
“Really. Then she’ll know you’re a cheapskate and dump you after the first date.”
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
Unlike many other teams that have made baseball a haven for cheapskates, the Dodgers invest much of their revenue back into the roster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
The best grilled pork banh mi for cheapskates, the $4.25 price tag here can’t be beat around Seattle.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 3, 2020
"It's true, Canada. We're a nation of cheapskates," wrote Matt Gurney.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2020
I was never given the hard sell again, which is lucky, because if it had kept up I would have started wondering how committed the restaurant really is to keeping cheapskates like me happy.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2019
“Tell me about it. Or more to the point, you tell those cheapskates down at the First Illinois about it. These are my men I’m putting on the line, officer. Good men. Men like you.”
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
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.
