inexpensive
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See cheap.
Other Word Forms
- inexpensively adverb
- inexpensiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of inexpensive
Explanation
Anything that's inexpensive doesn't cost a lot. The inexpensive camping trip your family takes, instead of flying first class to Disney World, might turn out to be a lot of fun! Inexpensive things are affordable, sometimes because they're cheaply made, but often because they're reasonably priced. Check out the thrift stores before you buy those $200 jeans — you might find an inexpensive used pair that looks identical! Or cook an inexpensive meal at home instead of eating at a fancy restaurant, and you'll have money to splurge on dessert. The Latin root of expensive means "weigh out money," and the prefix in- means "not."
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.
China’s automakers have taken off around the world by selling highly advanced and often inexpensive electric vehicles, hybrids and gas cars.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
Some Hollywood executives worry the growing cost of a night at the cinema and increased reliance on premium screens are turning moviegoing into a pricey special occasion rather than an inexpensive regular habit.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
They can focus instead on relatively inexpensive defensive capabilities.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026
It is lightweight, inexpensive, and its chiral phonons generate their own internal magnetic effects.
From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026
The average cost of these horses was about $150 each, almost a year’s pay for most An inexpensive two-passenger buggy. people.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
