Cheap

/t͡ʃiːp/ adj, adv, noun, verb, slang

adj, adv, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering.
  • Grammar: cheap is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: inexpensive, affordable, affordably, at cost.
  • Useful contrasts: astronomic, costliest, costly.
  • Usage evidence: Cheap apartment houses are multiplying rapidly.

How to use "cheap"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cheap" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cheap" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cheap" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cheap" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "cheap" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "inexpensive" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "cheap", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  2. 2
    A market; marketplace. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  3. 3
    Price. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  4. 4
    A low price; a bargain. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "The sack that thou hast drunk me would have bought me lights as good cheap at the dearest chandler's in Europe."

  5. 5
    Cheapness; lowness of price; abundance of supply. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To trade; traffic; bargain; chaffer; ask the price of goods; cheapen goods. intransitive, obsolete
  2. 2
    To bargain for; chaffer for; ask the price of; offer a price for; cheapen. obsolete, transitive
  3. 3
    To buy; purchase. obsolete, transitive
  4. 4
    To sell. obsolete, transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Low or reduced in price.

    "Where there are many sellers and few purchases, land will be cheap."

  2. 2
    Of poor quality.
  3. 3
    Of little worth.

    "You grow cheap in every subject's eye."

  4. 4
    Underhanded or unfair. slang

    "the cheap trick of hiding deadly lava under pushable blocks"

  5. 5
    Stingy; mean; excessively frugal. derogatory, informal

    "Insurance is expensive, but don't be so cheap that you risk losing your home because of a fire."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Trading at a price level which is low relative to historical trends, a similar asset, or (for derivatives) a theoretical value.

    "The ETF is trading cheap to NAV right now; we can arb this by buying the ETF and selling the underlying constituents."

  2. 7
    Taking little of system time or resources.

    "the algorithm is cheap to compute"

Adjective
  1. 1
    relatively low in price or charging low prices wordnet
  2. 2
    embarrassingly stingy wordnet
  3. 3
    of very poor quality; flimsy wordnet
  4. 4
    tastelessly showy wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Cheaply. obsolete

    "I bought this cheap in a junk shop."

Synonyms

All synonyms
inexpensiveaffordableaffordablyat costavariciousbad

Example

"Cheap apartment houses are multiplying rapidly."

Common questions

What does "cheap" mean?

Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering.

What is a synonym for "cheap"?

Common synonyms include: inexpensive, affordable, affordably, at cost, avaricious, bad.

How do you use "cheap" in a sentence?

Cheap apartment houses are multiplying rapidly.

How do you pronounce "cheap"?

Pronounced /t͡ʃiːp/.

Etymology

As a noun, from Middle English chep, from Old English cēap (“trade, market, value”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaup. As a verb, from Middle English chepen, from Old English ċēapian (“to buy, bargain, trade”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaupōn, from Proto-Germanic *kaupōną, a verbal derivative of *kaupô (“trader”), from Latin caupō. The adjective originated as a shortening of Middle and Early Modern English good cheap, literally “good purchase” (as in “that was good cheap”, i.e. “that was [a] good purchase”). Compare Dutch goedkoop, French bon marché. Cognates Cognate with Scots chepe (“to sell”), chape (“sale price”), North Frisian keap (“purchase”), West Frisian keap (“purchase, buy, acquisition”), Dutch koop (“buy, purchase, deal”), kopen (“to buy, purchase, shop”), Low German kopen (“to buy”), German Kauf (“trade, traffic, bargain, purchase, buy”), kaufen (“to buy”), Swedish köp (“bargain, purchase”), köpa (“to buy, purchase”), Norwegian Nynorsk kjøpa (“to buy, purchase”), Icelandic kaup (“purchase, bargain”), kaupa (“to purchase”); also borrowed as Finnish kauppa (“shop, trade”), Russian купить (kupitʹ, “to purchase”), Old Church Slavonic коупити (kupiti, “to purchase”), Bulgarian ку́пя (kúpja, “to purchase”), Serbo-Croatian купити (“to purchase”), Czech koupit (“to purchase”), Polish kupić (“to purchase”).

More for "cheap"

Synonyms

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