adj.
- low in price.
▸charging low prices.
▸inexpensive because of inferior quality.
- of little worth because achieved in a discreditable way requiring little effort:
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her moment of cheap triumph.
▸contemptible.
- N. Amer. informal miserly.
adv.
at or for a low price.
Phrase
- on the cheap
informal at a low cost.
Derivative
- cheapish adj.
- cheaply adv.
- cheapness n.
History
The word cheap derives from the Old English noun cēap, meaning ‘bargaining, trade, market’, which goes back to Latin caupo ‘small trader, innkeeper’. It was frequently found in phrases such as good or great cheap, meaning ‘a good deal, a bargain’. The ‘market’ sense is retained in old place names such as Cheapside and Eastcheap, and the element Chipping in the names of the Cotswold towns Chipping Norton and Chipping Campden. The use of cheap as an adjective dates from the 16th century.
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