Meanings
comparative cheaper · superlative cheapest · alternative dialectal chap · alternative dialectal chop · alternative ch3ap
- Low or reduced in price.
The cheapest antiager around: a good moisturizer.
2008, Amy Wechsler, The Mind-Beauty Connection, page 315 more examples
Where there are many sellers and few purchases, land will be cheap.
1691, [John Locke], Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money. […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 1692, →OCLCOne saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLCDatacasting bypasses the wired, terrestrial Internet and is a cheaper way to distribute software than pressing and mailing CDs.
2000, George Abe, Residential Broadband, Cisco Systems, →ISBNSuch [rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages.
2013 July 20, “Out of the gloom”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845, archived from the original on 12 Mar 2023McDonald’s has been vocal about adding more chicken to its menu, which is generally cheaper than beef.
2024 October 3, Jordan Valinsky, “McDonald’s is finally selling the Chicken Big Mac in the US”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2025Synonyms: inexpensive, affordable, bargain, good value · Antonyms: expensive, dear, costly, pricey, 5-star, big-ticket, chargeful, cheap at half the price
- Of poor quality.
a writer of cheap romances
Synonyms: low-quality, shoddy, ass, bad, base, below par, bottom-shelf, BTEC
- Of little worth.
You grow cheap in every subject's eye.
1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number)Synonyms: unvaluable · Antonyms: precious, valuable, invaluable, priceless
- businessTrading 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.
Synonyms: undervalued, underpriced · Antonyms: rich, overvalued, overpriced
- computingTaking little of system time or resources.
the algorithm is cheap to compute
plural cheaps · alternative dialectal chap · alternative dialectal chop · alternative ch3ap
- countableobsoleteuncountableTrade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering.
- countableobsoleteuncountableA market; marketplace.
- countableobsoleteuncountablePrice.
- countableobsoleteuncountableA low price; a bargain.
The sack that thou hast drunk me would have bought me lights as good cheap at the dearest chandler's in Europe.
c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii] - countableobsoleteuncountableCheapness; lowness of price; abundance of supply.
present singular third person cheaps · participle present cheaping · participle past cheaped · past cheaped · alternative dialectal chap · alternative dialectal chop · alternative ch3ap
- obsoletetransitiveTo bargain for; chaffer for; ask the price of; offer a price for; cheapen.
- obsoletetransitiveTo sell.
comparative more cheap · superlative most cheap · alternative dialectal chap · alternative dialectal chop · alternative ch3ap
- obsoleteCheaply.
I bought this cheap in a junk shop.
2 more examples
The pet shop has some budgerigars going cheap.
March 24 1658, John Milton, letter to Emeric Bigot I need not request you to purchase them as cheap as possible
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveLow or reduced in price.
adjectiveOf poor quality.
adjectiveTrading at a price level which is low relative to historical trends, a similar asset, or (for derivatives) a theoretical value.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiverelatively low in price or charging low prices
adjectivetastelessly showy
adjectiveembarrassingly stingy
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latincaupō
- Proto-Germanic*kaupōną
- Proto-West Germanic*kaupōn
- Old Englishċēapian“to buy, bargain, trade”
- Middle Englishchepen
- Proto-West Germanic*kaup
- Old Englishcēap“trade, market, value”
- Middle Englishchep
- Englishcheap
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 words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans goedkoop
- goedkooplow and/or reduced in price
Ancient Greek εὐτελής, εὔωνος
- εὐτελής (eutelḗs)low and/or reduced in price
- εὔωνος (eúōnos)low and/or reduced in price
- εὐθηνός (euthēnós)low and/or reduced in price
- εὐτελής (eutelḗs)of poor quality
Arabic رَخِيص
- رَخِيص (raḵīṣ)low and/or reduced in price
Basque merke, merke
- merkelow and/or reduced in price
- merkeof poor quality
Bengali সস্তা
- সস্তা (śosta)low and/or reduced in price
Bulgarian е́втин, намале́н
- е́втин (évtin)low and/or reduced in price
- намале́н (namalén)low and/or reduced in price
- долнока́чествен (dolnokáčestven)of poor quality
- е́втин (évtin)of little worth
- е́втин (évtin)slang: underhand or unfair in game
Catalan barat, barat
- baratlow and/or reduced in price
- baratof poor quality
Chinese Cantonese 平, 渣
- 平 (peng⁴)low and/or reduced in price
- 渣 (zaa²)of poor quality
- 鮓 /鲊 (zaa²)of poor quality
Chinese Mandarin 便宜, 賤 /贱
- 便宜 (piányi)low and/or reduced in price
- 賤 /贱 (jiàn)low and/or reduced in price
- 低級的 /低级的 (dījí de)of poor quality
- 價廉的 /价廉的 (jiàlián de)of little worth
- 卑鄙 (bēi bì)slang: underhand or unfair in game
Czech levný
- levnýlow and/or reduced in price
Danish billig, tarvelig
- billiglow and/or reduced in price
- tarveligof poor quality
- billigof little worth
- billigslang: underhand or unfair in game
Dutch goedkoop, onduur
- goedkooplow and/or reduced in price
- onduurlow and/or reduced in price
- betaalbaarlow and/or reduced in price
- afgeprijsdlow and/or reduced in price
- in aanbiedinglow and/or reduced in price
- goedkoopof poor quality
- laagwaardigof poor quality
- ordinairof poor quality
- goedkoopof little worth
- waardeloosof little worth
- schamelof little worth
- gierigfrugal, stingy
Esperanto malmultekosta, ĉipa
- malmultekostalow and/or reduced in price
- ĉipalow and/or reduced in price
Estonian odav
- odavlow and/or reduced in price
Finnish halpa, kehno
- halpalow and/or reduced in price
- kehnoof poor quality
- huonoof poor quality
- halpaof poor quality
- huonolaatuinenof poor quality
- vähäarvoinenof little worth
- arvotonof little worth
- halpamainenslang: underhand or unfair in game
- raukkamainenslang: underhand or unfair in game
- pihifrugal, stingy
- kitsasfrugal, stingy
- itarafrugal, stingy
French bon marché, pas cher
- bon marchélow and/or reduced in price
- pas cherlow and/or reduced in price
- peu cherlow and/or reduced in price
- économiquelow and/or reduced in price
- à deux ballesof poor quality
- au rabaisof poor quality
- modiqueof little worth
- radinfrugal, stingy
- séraphinfrugal, stingy
German billig, preiswert
- billiglow and/or reduced in price
- preiswertlow and/or reduced in price
- preisgünstiglow and/or reduced in price
- billigof poor quality
- geizigfrugal, stingy
Greek φτηνός, φτηνός
- φτηνός (ftinós)low and/or reduced in price
- φτηνός (ftinós)of poor quality
- φτηνός (ftinós)of little worth
Hawaiian emi
- emilow and/or reduced in price
Hebrew זוֹל, זולה
- זוֹל (zol)low and/or reduced in price
- זולה (zola)low and/or reduced in price
Hindi सस्ता, निम्नगुणवत्ता
- सस्ता (sastā)low and/or reduced in price
- निम्नगुणवत्ता (nimnaguṇvattā)of poor quality
- कंजूस (kañjūs)frugal, stingy
Hungarian olcsó, olcsó
- olcsólow and/or reduced in price
- olcsóof poor quality
- ócskaof poor quality
- olcsóof little worth
- értéktelenof little worth
Icelandic ódýr
- ódýrlow and/or reduced in price
Indonesian murah, murahan
- murahlow and/or reduced in price
- murahanof poor quality
Irish saor
- saorlow and/or reduced in price
Italian economico, a buon mercato
- economicolow and/or reduced in price
- a buon mercatolow and/or reduced in price
- poco costosolow and/or reduced in price
- scadenteof poor quality
- scadenteof little worth
Japanese 安い, 安価
- 安い (yasui)low and/or reduced in price
- 安価 (anka)low and/or reduced in price
- 激安 (gekiyasu)low and/or reduced in price
- 安っぽい (yasuppoi)of poor quality
- 安物の (yasumono no)of poor quality
- チープ (chīpu)of poor quality
Korean 싸다, 싼
- 싸다 (ssada)low and/or reduced in price
- 싼 (ssan)low and/or reduced in price
Latin vīlis, vīlis
- vīlislow and/or reduced in price
- vīlisof poor quality
- vīlisof little worth
Latvian lēts, lēts
- lētslow and/or reduced in price
- lētsof poor quality
- lētsof little worth
Lithuanian pigus, pigi
- piguslow and/or reduced in price
- pigilow and/or reduced in price
Malay murah
- murahlow and/or reduced in price
Māori māmā, ngāwari
- māmālow and/or reduced in price
- ngāwarilow and/or reduced in price
Norwegian Bokmål billig
- billiglow and/or reduced in price
Persian ارزان, مفت
- ارزان (arzân)low and/or reduced in price
- مفت (moft)low and/or reduced in price
Polish niedrogi, tani
- niedrogilow and/or reduced in price
- tanilow and/or reduced in price
- tandetnyof poor quality
- tandetnyof little worth
- tanislang: underhand or unfair in game
Portuguese barato, barateado
- baratolow and/or reduced in price
- barateadolow and/or reduced in price
- baratoof poor quality
- vilof little worth
- relesof little worth
Romanian ieftin
- ieftinlow and/or reduced in price
Russian дешёвый, недорого́й
- дешёвый (dešóvyj)low and/or reduced in price
- недорого́й (nedorogój)low and/or reduced in price
- низкопро́бный (nizkopróbnyj)of poor quality
- нека́чественный (nekáčestvennyj)of poor quality
- низкока́чественный (nizkokáčestvennyj)of poor quality
- дешёвый (dešóvyj)of little worth
- скупо́й (skupój)frugal, stingy
- ска́редный (skárednyj)frugal, stingy
- прижи́мистый (prižímistyj)frugal, stingy
Slovak lacný
- lacnýlow and/or reduced in price
Spanish barato, económico
- baratolow and/or reduced in price
- económicolow and/or reduced in price
- baratoof poor quality
- corrienteof poor quality
- chimboof poor quality
- chafaof poor quality
- deteriorof poor quality
- purrioof poor quality
- chantaof poor quality
Swahili rahisi
- rahisilow and/or reduced in price
Swedish billig, nedsatt
- billiglow and/or reduced in price
- nedsattlow and/or reduced in price
- billigof poor quality
- billigof little worth
- billigslang: underhand or unfair in game
Tagalog mura
- muralow and/or reduced in price
Tamil மலிவான, தரம் குறைந்த
- மலிவான (malivāṉa)low and/or reduced in price
- தரம் குறைந்த (taram kuṟainta)of poor quality
Thai ถูก
- ถูก (tùuk)low and/or reduced in price
Turkish ucuz, ucuz
- ucuzlow and/or reduced in price
- ucuzof poor quality
- adiof poor quality
- kıytırıkof poor quality
- uyuzof poor quality
- ucuzof little worth
- adiof little worth
- cimrifrugal, stingy
Ukrainian деше́вий
- деше́вий (dešévyj)low and/or reduced in price
Urdu سستا, ارزاں
- سستا (sastā)low and/or reduced in price
- ارزاں (arzān)low and/or reduced in price
Vietnamese rẻ
- rẻlow and/or reduced in price
Welsh rhad, tsiêp
- rhadlow and/or reduced in price
- tsiêplow and/or reduced in price
Yiddish ביליק
- ביליק (bilik)low and/or reduced in price
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with cheap
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
cheap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheap
“cheap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheap. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cheap,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheap.
Source: cheap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.