inexpensive
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See cheap.
Other Word Forms
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.
Recent advances by Chinese developers of open models also have stoked fears of cyber and biological risks from those models, which are inexpensive and widely available.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Deutsche Bank’s proprietary models screen for inexpensive currencies and of the top ten, six are Asian.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
It can be synthesized relatively easily and is made from inexpensive starting materials.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
Inflation was further contained by the opening of emerging economies in the 1990s, especially China, which resulted in a positive supply shock of inexpensive goods and labor.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Biking was simple, inexpensive, paperwork-free, and different, something that set them apart, not that they needed anything more.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
