dirt-cheap
adjective
very inexpensive.
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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:
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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
Still, there are no guarantees that they will be able to compete with the dirt-cheap yards of South Asia.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2023
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
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
See also: Micron’s stock is still dirt cheap.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
Global competitors had been bombed into submission, energy was dirt cheap, and American unions could demand concessions without fear of losing jobs to foreign rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
"Everything was dirt cheap, and if you were a foreigner you'd get attention," he says.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2024
When Monsanto introduced Roundup in the mid-1970s, it worked better than any other weed killer on the market, and it was dirt cheap as well.
From New York Times ● Aug. 18, 2021
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.
