dirt-cheap
adjective
very inexpensive.
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dirt-cheap
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dirt cheap
dirt cheapVery inexpensive, as in Their house was a real bargain, dirt cheap. Although the idea dates back to ancient times, the precise expression, literally meaning “as cheap as dirt,” replaced the now obsolete dog cheap. [Early 1800s]
dirt-cheap
American
[durt-cheep]
/ ˈdɜrtˈtʃip /
adjective
adverb
dirt-cheap
British
adjective
dirt cheap
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of dirt-cheap
First recorded in 1815–25
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:
LAS VEGAS—A trip to this desert city once meant dirt-cheap hotel rooms and buffets, all subsidized by gambling revenue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Many airlines, especially discount carriers, quote a dirt-cheap base fare.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
The theory was that dirt-cheap money would encourage a modest rise in inflation that would stimulate corporate profits.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
But can a $2 million laser compete with a dirt-cheap lightning rod?
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 16, 2023
She purchased a dirt-cheap, used red Ford Pinto with fake-wood paneling.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
By the spring of 2009, when the market was dirt cheap, buybacks had dropped by 85%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
See also: Micron’s stock is still dirt cheap.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
If you’re from the Midwest, you know it’s customary to respond to a compliment on your outfit with an effusive “Thank you so much, I got it dirt cheap on massive sale!”
From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2025
"Everything was dirt cheap, and if you were a foreigner you'd get attention," he says.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2024
You could get everything from fence posts to lambing pens to refrigerators dirt cheap.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
