1
a
: charging or obtainable at a low price
a good cheap hotel
cheap tickets
b
: purchasable below the going price or the real value
c
: depreciated in value (as by currency inflation)
cheap dollars
2
3
: gained or done with little effort
a cheap victory
talk is cheap
4
of money
: obtainable at a low rate of interest
: for little cost : cheaply
was able to buy it cheap
"It all seems to centre round that bust of Napoleon which I bought for this very room about four months ago. I picked it up cheap from Harding Brothers, two doors from the High Street Station."—
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
obsolete
: bargain see also for cheap, on the cheap
Synonyms
Examples of cheap in a Sentence
Adjective
I always buy the cheapest brand of cereal.
curtains made of cheap material
He wears a cheap watch that's always breaking.
This gas station is cheaper than the one by the highway.
Don't be cheap—buy good quality tires for your car.
Recent Examples on the WebBrittany Kasko, Fox News, 24 Nov. 2023
Meanwhile, data at GasBuddy, a fuel tracking service, showed the national average at $3.24 a gallon, marking the cheapest Thanksgiving Day for drivers since 2020, GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan said Thursday on social media.
—Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 23 Nov. 2023
The primary benefit is that the ticket is cheaper, but basic economy only makes sense for specific travelers in certain situations.
—Harrison Pierce, Travel + Leisure, 22 Nov. 2023
Instead, about 99 percent of the world’s vanilla comes from synthetic sources such as vanillin, a cheaper and less labor-intensive alternative to harvesting vanilla beans or castoreum.
—Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023
Compared with nuclear power, solar is much cheaper and easier to install.
—Pieter Cleppe, National Review, 21 Nov. 2023
Foundation President Michael Weinstein made a promise to house homeless people cheaper and faster than government agencies and other nonprofits, despite having no experience in the field.
—Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023
For one, their low price—only about $6.20—is cheaper than the average price of a packet of cigarettes.
—WIRED, 19 Nov. 2023
Previously, the $64,000 Cadillac Lyriq was the automaker’s cheapest electric vehicle option, so the Optiq’s price could start in the sub-$60,000 range, although the company has not announced any details in that regard.
—Umar Shakir, The Verge, 17 Nov. 2023
Scott Burns, Dallas News, 29 Aug. 2023
Musk ultimately wants to make space travel cheap enough that even Average Joes can access the cosmos—or Mars.
—Lauren Sigfusson, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2018
But flying cheap doesn’t matter much if there isn’t anywhere good to fly.
—Alexandra Skores, Dallas News, 13 Apr. 2023
Low interest rates put in place to support the economy after the Great Recession made borrowing cheap and pushed investors to seek out higher returns from riskier companies, spurring financing and growth for tech companies.
—Joe Rennison Eli Murray, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
Lemieux was on the ice to hoist it, receiving only a two-game suspension for cheap-shotting Draper.
—Viv Bernstein, Detroit Free Press, 29 May 2021
The tree was usually found on land that had been given away or sold cheap by the federal government—and then had to be repurchased at very high cost.
—Verlyn Klinkenborg, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2023
There are some rough edges, such as the cheap-feeling steering wheel stalks and some of the other switchgear.
—James Morris, Forbes, 5 June 2021
Modest performance, some cheap-looking interior plastics, clumsy optional dual-clutch transmission.
—Mike Sutton, Car and Driver, 16 Nov. 2022
See More
Adjective
Barbed wire, however, was cheaper and easier to install.
—Brittany Kasko, Fox News, 24 Nov. 2023
Meanwhile, data at GasBuddy, a fuel tracking service, showed the national average at $3.24 a gallon, marking the cheapest Thanksgiving Day for drivers since 2020, GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan said Thursday on social media.
—Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 23 Nov. 2023
The primary benefit is that the ticket is cheaper, but basic economy only makes sense for specific travelers in certain situations.
—Harrison Pierce, Travel + Leisure, 22 Nov. 2023
Instead, about 99 percent of the world’s vanilla comes from synthetic sources such as vanillin, a cheaper and less labor-intensive alternative to harvesting vanilla beans or castoreum.
—Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023
Compared with nuclear power, solar is much cheaper and easier to install.
—Pieter Cleppe, National Review, 21 Nov. 2023
Foundation President Michael Weinstein made a promise to house homeless people cheaper and faster than government agencies and other nonprofits, despite having no experience in the field.
—Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023
For one, their low price—only about $6.20—is cheaper than the average price of a packet of cigarettes.
—WIRED, 19 Nov. 2023
Previously, the $64,000 Cadillac Lyriq was the automaker’s cheapest electric vehicle option, so the Optiq’s price could start in the sub-$60,000 range, although the company has not announced any details in that regard.
—Umar Shakir, The Verge, 17 Nov. 2023
Adverb
Wall Street complains because higher rates add risk to otherwise painless ways to make gobs of money by borrowing cheap and lending long.
—Scott Burns, Dallas News, 29 Aug. 2023
Musk ultimately wants to make space travel cheap enough that even Average Joes can access the cosmos—or Mars.
—Lauren Sigfusson, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2018
But flying cheap doesn’t matter much if there isn’t anywhere good to fly.
—Alexandra Skores, Dallas News, 13 Apr. 2023
Low interest rates put in place to support the economy after the Great Recession made borrowing cheap and pushed investors to seek out higher returns from riskier companies, spurring financing and growth for tech companies.
—Joe Rennison Eli Murray, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
Lemieux was on the ice to hoist it, receiving only a two-game suspension for cheap-shotting Draper.
—Viv Bernstein, Detroit Free Press, 29 May 2021
The tree was usually found on land that had been given away or sold cheap by the federal government—and then had to be repurchased at very high cost.
—Verlyn Klinkenborg, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2023
There are some rough edges, such as the cheap-feeling steering wheel stalks and some of the other switchgear.
—James Morris, Forbes, 5 June 2021
Modest performance, some cheap-looking interior plastics, clumsy optional dual-clutch transmission.
—Mike Sutton, Car and Driver, 16 Nov. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cheap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Adjective
Middle English chep, from Old English cēap trade; akin to Old High German kouf trade; both ultimately from Latin caupo tradesman
First Known Use
Adjective
1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1b
Adverb
1569, in the meaning defined above
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of cheap was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing cheap
Articles Related to cheap
Dictionary Entries Near cheap
Cite this Entry
“Cheap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheap. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
cheap
adjectiveˈchēp
1
a
: available at low cost or at less than the true value
potatoes are cheap right now
b
: of low price
always buys the cheapest brand
c
: charging low prices
always wants to go to a cheap place
2
: gained with little effort
a cheap victory
3
a
: of low quality or value
cheap material wears out quickly
a cheap joke
b
: lowered in one's own opinion
feel cheap
c
: stingy sense 1
don't be so cheap
cheap
adverb
cheapen
verb
ˈchē-pən
cheaply
adverb
cheapness
noun
Etymology
Adjective
from earlier obsolete cheap (noun) "bargain," from Old English cēap "trade" — related to chap entry 3
More from Merriam-Webster on cheap
Nglish: Translation of cheap for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of cheap for Arabic Speakers
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