cheap

1 of 3

adjective

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
a
: of inferior quality or worth : tawdry, sleazy
cheap workmanship
b
: stingy
My uncle was too cheap to pay for dinner.
c
: contemptible because of lack of any fine, lofty, or redeeming qualities
feeling cheap
I felt cheap, full of shame and guilt
3
: gained or done with little effort
a cheap victory
talk is cheap
4
of money : obtainable at a low rate of interest
cheapish adjective
cheapishly adverb
cheaply adverb
cheapness noun

cheap

2 of 3

adverb

: 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

cheap

3 of 3

noun

obsolete

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 Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
As in cheaper than vinyl records, which were themselves once cheap or at least reasonable. Spin Team, SPIN, 28 Nov. 2024 Consumers tend to shift to cheaper alternatives or reduce their overall spending if the prices continue to rise. Trefis Team, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024
Adverb
Ironically the previous government, only a generation late, bemoaned that state of affairs, all the while depending on the situation to keep their borrowing cheap or perhaps at the margin possible. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024 The firm and a whole host of other renters spent millions adding Tesla and Polestar models to their fleets, only to start selling them off cheap when the problems started mounting. Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 16 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for cheap 

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

Dictionary Entries Near cheap

Cite this Entry

“Cheap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheap. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

cheap

adjective
ˈchēp
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
ˈchē-pən
verb
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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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