on the cheap

idiomatic phrase

: at minimum expense : cheaply
did the job on the cheap

Examples of on the cheap in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This is filmmaking as leap of faith: Nouvelle Vague may seem glowingly modest, but unlike Breathless, it couldn’t be made on the cheap. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 May 2025 Get ready to level up your tech game on the cheap with today’s Amazon deals. Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025 Others, including many consumer services and light industries, are now dominated by Russian businesses who were able to purchase the assets of departing Western firms on the cheap and move unopposed into their former market niches. Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 14 May 2025 For preventive care and treatment for run-of-the-mill illnesses on the cheap, Ryan Health Centers are government-funded and offer services at little or no cost to patients, regardless of their insurance status. The Editors, Curbed, 9 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for on the cheap

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of on the cheap was in 1859

Cite this Entry

“On the cheap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20the%20cheap. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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