dirt-cheap

[durt-cheep]

adjective

1. very inexpensive.

   The house may need a lot of work, but it was dirt-cheap.

adverb

1. cheaply.

   They got it dirt-cheap.

dirt-cheap

adjective

1. informal,  at an extremely low price

Word History and Origins

Origin of dirt-cheap¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Idioms and Phrases

Very 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]

Example Sentences

Michael Gutberlet, CEO of Kaweco Pen Company, a German penmaker founded in 1883, tells his industry peers that dirt-cheap Chinese copies are as big of a threat as the decline of handwriting.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

By subletting a room in his San Jose apartment, cutting his housing costs by half, and later living in his in-laws’ basement for “dirt-cheap rent,” he amassed enough wealth by his early 30s to have the financial freedom to start his own firm.

Read more on MarketWatch

The tax will inevitably hike costs on its famously dirt-cheap products and possibly crush the flowering industry—just seven years after Michigan became the 10th state to legalize recreational weed with an overwhelming popular mandate.

Read more on Slate

A petrochemical company has announced it intends to cut 60 jobs at a plant in East Yorkshire blaming high energy costs and "dirt-cheap" imports from China.

Read more on BBC

And unlike most doctors, these maggots are dirt-cheap and willing to die for your wound.

Read more on Slate

Related Words

• cheap 
• economical 
• low-cost 
• low-priced 
• modest 
• popular 
• reasonable