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.
Unlike silicon, which requires ultra-pure single-crystal wafers, these materials can be produced using inexpensive solution-based methods while delivering comparable performance.
From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026
And many of them are starting to look inexpensive.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
The contrasting responses to the threat of inexpensive drones stems from differing approaches and economics—something the U.S. and its Gulf allies are increasingly taking into account as the war stretches into its third week.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
Cardiologists favor this approach to stress testing to exclude coronary artery disease because it is relatively inexpensive, it is noninvasive and it yields a good deal of information about the structure of the heart.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026
Standing on the dim porch, he wore an inexpensive suit and a shirt with a pointy collar that had lost most of its starch.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
