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
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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 The Ravens have had success in recent years finding productive veterans on the cheap late in the offseason. Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025 Trained as a sociologist, Lewis Hine picked up a camera and trained it on the cheap labor performed by children in American factories and on farms. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 5 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 28 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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