# cheap

Pronunciation: say "CHEEP" US /t͡ʃip/, UK /t͡ʃiːp/

## Adjective

1. Costing little money, or priced low compared with similar things, earlier prices, or what something is really worth.
   - Simple: Costing little money, or priced low compared with similar things or what it is worth.
   - _The market sells cheap vegetables at the end of the day._
   - _Airlines often offer cheaper fares for early bookings._
2. Of poor quality; badly made or flimsy.
   - Simple: Made badly or from low-quality materials.
   - _The furniture looked elegant but felt cheap up close._
   - _Critics complained about the cheap special effects in the film._
3. Unwilling to spend money to a degree others find mean or selfish. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Not wanting to spend money, even when you really should.
   - _Her cheap relatives never offered to pay for dinner._
   - _The boss was too cheap to fix the broken heater._
4. Having little value or worth.
   - Simple: Worth very little.
   - _Victory felt cheap when the rivals failed to show up._
   - _His apology seemed cheap, offered only to end the argument._
6. Done in an underhanded or unfair manner. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Done in an unfair or sneaky way.
   - _The boxer landed a cheap blow after the bell rang._
   - _Mocking his accent was a cheap way to score points._
7. Using little system time or few computing resources.
   - Simple: Using only a little computer time or power.
   - _The function is cheap enough to call inside a tight loop._
   - _Caching makes repeated lookups much cheaper._

## Adverb

5. At low cost; for little money. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: For a low price, at little cost.

## Noun

8. A bargain, or goods obtained at a low price. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A low price, or a good deal on something.
9. Lowness of price; the cheapness that comes from a plentiful supply of goods. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A low price, or plenty of goods to be had.
10. The price or cost of goods. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The amount that something costs.
13. The activity of trade; buying, selling, and bartering goods. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Buying and selling, the business of trading.
14. A public place set aside for buying and selling; a marketplace. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A place where goods are bought and sold.

## Verb

11. To obtain something by paying for it; to purchase. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To buy or pay money for something.
12. To hand over goods in return for payment; to sell. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To give goods in exchange for money.
15. To bargain or haggle over the price of goods. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To argue about a price when buying or selling something.

## Origin

The noun goes back to Proto-West Germanic *kaup, which became Old English cēap ("trade, market, value") and then Middle English chep. The adjective started out as a shortened form of the Middle and Early Modern English phrase good cheap, which literally meant "good purchase." Dutch koop and German Kauf are related, and Dutch goedkoop and French bon marché are built in a similar way to good cheap.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cheap (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).