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
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
Kara McGinley, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025
The 996 also felt cheap inside, borrowing interior trim from the Boxster—hardly fitting for a car with a base MSRP of $65,000 at the time.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 1 Aug. 2025
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 June 2025
That was largely fueled by the interest rate policy implemented by the U.S. Federal Reserve, most recently during the pandemic in 2020 — setting rates near zero — which made borrowing cheap and incentivized investors to deploy more funds into startups and other riskier assets.
—Ernestine Siu, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cheap
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Adjective
Xfinity offers some of the cheapest plans available in Nashville, but prices may go up once the promotional period ends.
—Kara McGinley, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025
The 996 also felt cheap inside, borrowing interior trim from the Boxster—hardly fitting for a car with a base MSRP of $65,000 at the time.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 1 Aug. 2025
Adverb
Related Articles Callahan: Red Sox cheap out again, kill 2025 hopes with Rafael Devers trade
That man came around to score as part of a five-run rally by the Buffalo Bisons off WooSox pitcher Isaac Coffey, closing the book on Houck.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 June 2025
That was largely fueled by the interest rate policy implemented by the U.S. Federal Reserve, most recently during the pandemic in 2020 — setting rates near zero — which made borrowing cheap and incentivized investors to deploy more funds into startups and other riskier assets.
—Ernestine Siu, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cheap
Cite this Entry
“Cheap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheap. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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