cheap Hear it!

cheap definition

cheap (c̸hēp)

adjective

  1. low in price or cost; not expensive
  2. charging low prices a chain of cheap stores
  3. spending or able to spend little a cheaper clientele
  4. worth more than the price
  5. costing little labor or trouble; easily gotten a cheap victory
  6. of little value or poor quality; virtually worthless
  7. deserving of scorn; contemptible made cheap by their own behavior
  8. Informal stingy; niggardly
  9. Econ. lowered in exchange value or buying power; also, available at low interest rates: said of money

Etymology: < good cheap, favorable bargain < ME god chep (used as transl. of OFr à bon marché) < OE ceap, a purchase, bargain, akin to Ger kaufen, to buy; ult. < L caupo, petty tradesman

adverb

at a low cost; cheaply

noun

  1. a market: now only in place names Cheapside
  2. Obsolete a bargain

Etymology: OE ceap, market; akin to Dan kjob (ON kaup) as in Kjöbnhavn (Copenhagen)

Related Forms:

cheap Idioms

on the cheap

at very little cost; cheaply

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business cheap definition - business

idioms cheap idiom

cheap Synonyms

cheap

modif.

  1. Low in relative price

    inexpensive, low-priced, reasonable, economical, affordable, moderate, family-size, economy-size, economy, budget, utility (grade), reduced, marked down, discounted, depreciated, slashed, standard, modest, cut-rate, on sale, competitive, thrifty, bargain, bargain-priced, sale-priced, irregular, cut-price, low-cost, at a bargain, half-price, popular-priced, worth the money, rock-bottom, second, dime-a-dozen*, dirt-cheap*, costing peanuts*, for a song*, bargain-basement*; see also economical 2.

    Antonyms expensive*, dear*, costly. *

  2. Low in quality

    inferior, shoddy, poorly made, sleazy*; see common 1, poor 2.

  3. Dishonest or base

    dirty, tawdry, low, contemptible; see dishonest 2.

  4. Stingy*

    miserly, penurious, tight*; see stingy.

cheap and inexpensive both mean low in cost or price, but inexpensive simply suggests value comparable to the price, and cheap, in this sense, stresses a bargain; cheap may also imply inferior quality or value, tawdriness, contemptibility, etc. cheap jewelry, to feel cheap


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

cheap Usage Examples

Preposition: as

  • chip: The CDs sound very cool and cheap as proverbial chips.

Modifies a noun

  • flight: Click here to see our cheap flights to Beijing.

Used with adjective complement

  • ai: It ain't cheap, but you do save everywhere else.

Infinitive complement

  • buy: Comet stocks only the best brands which are considerably cheaper to buy online than in store.

Modifying Another Word

  • relatively: Curiously, I also seem to recall that pizza's were relatively cheap.

Preposition: in

  • jersey: Excluded due car cheap in insurance jersey new to only national association.

Preposition: than

  • buying: It worked out a lot cheaper than buying from Acticare.
cheap usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

cheap quotes

I don't know what it is about fecundity that so appals. I suppose it is the teeming evidence that birth and growth, which we value, are ubiquitous and blind, that life itself is so astonishingly cheap, that nature is as careless as it is bountiful, and that with extravagance goes a crushing waste that will one day include our own cheap lives.

-Dillard, Annie

Oh! God! that bread should be so dear, And flesh and blood so cheap!

-Honorius of Autun

Just because you're rich doesn't mean you're not cheap.

-Seibel, Cathy

cheap quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"cheap." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/cheap>

APA Style

cheap. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/cheap

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment