1
as in cheap
costing little
throughout the trip we ate at bargain-basement restaurants in order to save money
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inferior
of low quality
bargain-basement shoes that fell apart after a week
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Recent Examples of bargain-basement
Owned by Robert Lehmann and his wife, Verna; trained by Don Combs; and ridden by Mike Manganello, the son of Bold Commander and the broodmare Dust Storm was a bargain-basement $6,500 acquisition at the September 1968 Keeneland yearling sale.
—
Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Perhaps owners harbor some wishful thinking about bargain-basement rates.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
Soon, the proud agricultural families are forced to migrate and sell their land at bargain-basement prices.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
These were more like bargain-basement metal plates that filled a portion of his mouth.
—Jeff Pearlman, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
Not too long ago, Western markets were subtly dismissing Chinese cars for coming off as bargain-basement alternatives.
—New Atlas, 19 Sep. 2025
Companies such as Shein and Temu have had a meteoric rise in the past five years, appealing to Western customers with a huge offering at bargain-basement prices.
—Olivia Pinnock, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Instead, first Anna and Tess and then Harper and Lily land at the table of bargain-basement psychic Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer, working hard for little dividend), who surprises even herself by intuiting that the older Colemans’ lifelines have intersected before.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2025
Analysts suggest a model starting around US $25,000, to compete against Volkswagen’s own bargain-basement EV.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 June 2023
Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Perhaps owners harbor some wishful thinking about bargain-basement rates.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
Soon, the proud agricultural families are forced to migrate and sell their land at bargain-basement prices.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
These were more like bargain-basement metal plates that filled a portion of his mouth.
—Jeff Pearlman, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
Not too long ago, Western markets were subtly dismissing Chinese cars for coming off as bargain-basement alternatives.
—New Atlas, 19 Sep. 2025
Companies such as Shein and Temu have had a meteoric rise in the past five years, appealing to Western customers with a huge offering at bargain-basement prices.
—Olivia Pinnock, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Instead, first Anna and Tess and then Harper and Lily land at the table of bargain-basement psychic Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer, working hard for little dividend), who surprises even herself by intuiting that the older Colemans’ lifelines have intersected before.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2025
Analysts suggest a model starting around US $25,000, to compete against Volkswagen’s own bargain-basement EV.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bargain-basement
Adjective
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The reason all of this is happening, probably more than any other, is that clipping is cheap.—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
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Surprisingly the most expensive hairpiece so far has been Attenborough’s, which Fortune reveals was a hybrid of a cheap £20 ($26) wig at the back combined with tens of man-hours knotting individual strands of hair onto a lace front to create the centenarian’s familiar pate.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Husbands are also inferior house cleaners.—
Joe Salas
May 09,
New Atlas,
9 May 2026
-
Though Rogers is Christian, his story of transformation from weakling to hero certainly spoke to young Jewish boys and men, who were often inaccurately portrayed in the media and press as intellectually superior but physically inferior.—
Miriam Eve Mora,
The Conversation,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
In a debate for the Democratic nomination for the Senate in Iowa this month, one of the moderators, Erin Murphy, asked the candidates, Josh Turek and Zach Wahls, both state legislators, a reasonable, if downbeat, question.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
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The tuition payments may be a gift presented without strings, but there are still plenty of reasonable expectations that come with a college education.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
Adjective
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Harper opened a small dance studio, on Forty-sixth Street; business was poor until Bradley was hired and revamped Delroy’s act.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
Still vehicle electronics can be damaged from reverse polarity, poor or wrong connection points or voltage spikes from improper equipment.—
Hartford Courant,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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Yes, and the research makes a solid case for trying inexpensive fixes first.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2026
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This was also the most inexpensive mix out of the bunch, priced at just 60 cents at the local grocery store.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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Residents describe ‘a terrible night’ More than 30 people were injured in the apartment building collapse, while emergency workers rescued 28 residents, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.—
Samya Kullab,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
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And some were not kind to him on social media following the terrible first round.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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Multiple studies in 2024–26 have ranked San Jose as the least affordable housing market in the United States, based on comparisons of home prices to local incomes.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
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This move is a recognition of a basic reality, which is that affordable housing is only as good as the ability to fill it.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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West Ham showed themselves to be a bad team, less than the sum of their parts and wholly ill-equipped for the challenge in front of them.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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Each reiteration and exaggeration of Mary’s bad behavior is another civic stroke of the chisel that perfects the monumental Lincoln in our collective imagination.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bargain-basement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bargain-basement. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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