26984 words

cheap

26 definitions • 36 examples
1
costing little money or less than is usual or expected:

Examples:

I got a cheap flight at the last minute.
Food is usually cheaper in supermarkets.
Children and the elderly are entitled to cheap train tickets.
The system is simple and cheap to operate.
cheap labour During times of mass unemployment, there's a pool of cheap labour for employers to draw from.
figurative In a war, human life becomes very cheap (= seems to be of little value).
2
If a shop or restaurant is cheap, it charges low prices:

Examples:

I go to the cheapest hairdresser's in town.
3
cheap but good or enjoyable:

Examples:

There's a restaurant round the corner that serves cheap and cheerful food.
4
If you get goods on the cheap, you get them for a low price:

Examples:

There's a big store near here where you can buy designer clothes on the cheap.
5
for a low price:

Examples:

Do you like this? I got it for cheap.
6
used to describe goods that are both low in quality and low in price:

Examples:

I bought some cheap wine for cooking with.
He bought some cheap shoes that fell apart after a couple of months.
7
costing little and of very bad quality:

Examples:

They sold cheap and nasty watches at hugely inflated prices.
8
unwilling to spend money:

Examples:

He's so cheap he didn't even buy me a card for my birthday.
9

Examples:

I wish you'd stop making cheap jokes about my friends.
10
If you describe the way a person is dressed as cheap, you mean that it is very obvious that they are trying to sexually attract other people.
11
for little money or for less than is usual:

Examples:

I got some shoes cheap in the sale.
going cheap There were some chairs in the market going cheap (= they were not expensive).
12
costing little money or less than is usual or expected:

Examples:

After World War II, the US had cheap labor, cheap energy, cheap raw materials, cheap housing, cheap food, and cheap transportation.
Used computers are dirt cheap (= very cheap).
13
If a place that sells goods or services is cheap, it charges low prices:

Examples:

a cheap department store
14
Goods that are cheap are low in price but of poor quality:

Examples:

The cheap rug did not come clean.
15
disapproving Someone who is cheap is unwilling to spend money:

Examples:

The boss is cheap – he’ll never buy a new truck if he can squeeze a few more miles out of the old one.
16

Examples:

She called him a cheap thug and a liar.
17
costing little money or less than is usual or expected:

Examples:

I got a cheap flight at the last minute.
Food is usually cheaper in supermarkets.
During times of mass unemployment, there's a pool of cheap labour for employers to draw from.
18
if a store, restaurant, etc. is cheap, it charges low prices:

Examples:

This is the cheapest office supplies store in the city.
19
low in quality and low in price:

Examples:

He bought some cheap shoes that fell apart after a couple of months.
20
unwilling to spend money:

Examples:

He's so cheap we didn't get a pay raise this year.
21
cheap, but good or enjoyable:

Examples:

There's a restaurant round the corner that serves cheap and cheerful food.
22
costing little, and of bad quality:

Examples:

Spend a little more and avoid getting something that is just cheap and nasty.
23
for little money, or for less than is usual:

Examples:

buy/sell sth cheap I bought it cheap from an internet auction site.
24
to be for sale for less than you would normally expect to pay:

Examples:

Many mortgage deals are going cheap right now.
25
if you say that something does not come cheap, you mean that it is of good quality and is therefore expensive:

Examples:

If you want a qualified accountant, their services don't come cheap.
26
if something is bought, done, or produced on the cheap, it is bought, etc. for less money than you would normally expect to pay, and is perhaps of poor quality:

Examples:

This site will help you to eat well on the cheap.
Much of the refurbishment work has been done on the cheap - and it shows.

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