cheap Meaning & Definition
What Does Cheap Mean?
As an adjective, cheap means Low or reduced in price. It can also mean Of poor quality. As a noun, it means Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering. As a verb, it means To trade; traffic; bargain; chaffer; ask the price of goods; cheapen goods.
Quick Facts About Cheap
| Part of speech | adjective, noun, verb, adverb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | //ˈt͡ʃiːp// |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | garish, tawdry and brassy |
| Antonyms | expensive, rich and dear |
| Plural | cheaps |
| Comparative / superlative | cheaper, cheapest |
| Verb forms | cheaps, cheaping, cheaped |
Cheap Definition (Adjective)
- Low or reduced in price.
- Of poor quality.
a writer of cheap romances
- Of little worth.
- Underhanded or unfair.
the cheap trick of hiding deadly lava under pushable blocks
- Stingy; mean; excessively frugal.
Insurance is expensive, but don't be so cheap that you risk losing your home because of a fire.
- 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.
- Taking little of system time or resources.
the algorithm is cheap to compute
Cheap as a Noun
- Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering.
- A market; marketplace.
- Price.
- A low price; a bargain.
- Cheapness; lowness of price; abundance of supply.
Cheap as a Verb
- To trade; traffic; bargain; chaffer; ask the price of goods; cheapen goods.
- To bargain for; chaffer for; ask the price of; offer a price for; cheapen.
- To buy; purchase.
- To sell.
Cheap as an Adverb
- Cheaply.
I bought this cheap in a junk shop.
Adjective
- Low and/or reduced in price.
- (of an action or tactic in a game of skill) Underhand or unfair.
the cheap trick of hiding deadly lava under pushable blocks
Synonyms of Cheap
Antonyms of Cheap
Cheap in a Sentence
a writer of cheap romances
the cheap trick of hiding deadly lava under pushable blocks
Insurance is expensive, but don't be so cheap that you risk losing your home because of a fire.
The ETF is trading cheap to NAV right now; we can arb this by buying the ETF and selling the underlying constituents.
the algorithm is cheap to compute
I bought this cheap in a junk shop.
The pet shop has some budgerigars going cheap.
Word Forms & Grammar
cheap (comparative cheaper, superlative cheapest)
cheap (countable and uncountable, plural cheaps)
cheap (third-person singular simple present cheaps, present participle cheaping, simple past and past participle cheaped)
cheap (comparative more cheap, superlative most cheap)
Words That Rhyme With Cheap
Origin of Cheap
Origin 1: 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.
Origin 2: 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.[1]
How to Pronounce Cheap
You say cheap as //ˈt͡ʃiːp//. It has 1 syllable.
Questions People Ask About Cheap
Is cheap an adjective or a noun?
Cheap is mainly used as an adjective, but it can also be used as a noun, a verb and an adverb.
What is another word for cheap?
Close synonyms of cheap are garish, tawdry and brassy. See the full list of cheap synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of cheap?
Words opposite in meaning to cheap are expensive, rich, dear and high-priced.
What is the plural of cheap?
The plural of cheap is cheaps.
What is the past tense of cheap?
The past tense of cheap is cheaped. The present participle is cheaping.