cheap Meaning, Definition & Usage

adjective relatively low in price or charging low prices
inexpensive.
- it would have been cheap at twice the price
- inexpensive family restaurants
adjective satellite tastelessly showy
garish; gaudy; brassy; meretricious; tatty; tawdry; flash; flashy; tacky; gimcrack; loud; trashy.
- a flash car
- a flashy ring
- garish colors
- a gaudy costume
- loud sport shirts
- a meretricious yet stylish book
- tawdry ornaments
adjective satellite of very poor quality; flimsy
tinny; punk; crummy; bum; sleazy; chintzy; cheesy.
adjective satellite embarrassingly stingy
chintzy; chinchy.

AS. ceáp bargain, sale, price; akin to D. Koop purchase, G. Kauf, ICel. kaup bargain. Cf. Cheapen, Chapman, Chaffer, Cope, v. i.

A bargain; a purchase; cheapness. Obs.
The sack that thou hast drunk me would have bought me lights as good cheap at the dearest chandler's in Europe. Shak.

Abbrev. fr. "good cheap": a good purchase or bargain; cf. F. bon marché, à bon marché. See Cheap, n., Cheapen.

Having a low price in market; of small cost or price, as compared with the usual price or the real value.
Where there are a great sellers to a few buyers, there the thing to be sold will be cheap. Locke.
Of comparatively small value; common; mean.
You grow cheap in every subject's eye. Dryden.