on the cheap

O o

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [on, awn stressed th ee cheep]
- /ɒn, ɔn stressed ði tʃip/
- /ɒn ðə tʃiːp/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [on, awn stressed th ee cheep]
- /ɒn, ɔn stressed ði tʃip/

Definitions of on the cheap words

adjective on the cheap costing very little; relatively low in price; inexpensive: a cheap dress. 1
adjective on the cheap costing little labor or trouble: Words are cheap. 1
adjective on the cheap charging low prices: a very cheap store. 1
adjective on the cheap of little account; of small value; mean; shoddy: cheap conduct; cheap workmanship. 1
adjective on the cheap embarrassed; sheepish: He felt cheap about his mistake. 1
adjective on the cheap obtainable at a low rate of interest: when money is cheap. 1

See all 15 definitions of on the cheap

Information block about the term

Origin of on the cheap

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English cheep (short for phrases, as good cheep cheap, literally, good bargain), Old English cēap bargain, market, trade; cognate with German Kauf, Old Norse kaup; all < Latin caupō innkeeper, tradesman; see chapman

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for On the cheap

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of On the cheap

on the cheap popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

on the cheap usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for on the cheap

adverb on the cheap

cheaply — costing very little; relatively low in price; inexpensive: a cheap dress.
discounted — to deduct a certain amount from (a bill, charge, etc.): All bills that are paid promptly will be discounted at two percent.
inexpensively — In an inexpensive manner.

All 3 Synonyms of on the cheap