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
Synonyms
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 WebPueng Vongs, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
There were peanut galleries in all the great 19th century European opera houses, and there have been cheap seats ever since.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cheap 
Adjective
Here are the cheapest gas stations to fill up in the South Bay right now, according to GasBuddy.com.
$4.89 a gallon
Poppy
801 N Fair Oaks Ave.
—Pueng Vongs, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
There were peanut galleries in all the great 19th century European opera houses, and there have been cheap seats ever since.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cheap
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cheap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cheap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheap. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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