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

These design quirks make it tricky to find a value fund that includes stocks that are cheap on several measures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

“It’s not a cheap perfume, I might say,” Iommi says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026

After a withering stretch, some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence are starting to look downright cheap.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026

But there is a wrinkle: Successful companies often look cheap when they are about to take a big fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

Quirin left without saying goodbye and went back to the cheap boardinghouse where he and Heinck were now staying.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

MANAMA, Bahrain—Technological advances making ballistic missiles cheaper and more precise have allowed Iran and the Houthis of Yemen to strike foes across the Middle East.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

Join here for ad-free listening, bonus segments, and perks like cheaper event tickets.

From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2026

The lamps on loan retail at £99, but there are cheaper ones on the market.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026

Yet voters decisively rejected a state ballot measure that promised to make it easier and cheaper to build housing by changing the law often blamed for driving up costs: the California Environmental Quality Act.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026

He was shocked how much easier and cheaper it was to buy a credit default swap than it was to sell short an actual cash bond—even though they represented exactly the same bet.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

"Both sides need an outcome, and a hotline is diplomacy's cheapest: free to announce, free to ignore," he said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026

Chip stocks are trading at their cheapest valuations in nearly seven years.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026

The cheapest options once started around $60 and scaled to $999 and up for pro tiers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

PBMs emerged as intermediaries to help health insurers steer doctors and hospitals to the cheapest drug alternatives and give insurers the concentrated heft that would afford them greater leverage in negotiations with drug manufacturers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

They learned where the cheapest gas station was—at the corner of Lomond and Lee Roads, always one cent less than anywhere else; where the drugstores were and which gave double coupons.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

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Related Words

• competitive
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• low-cost
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