English Reference

Word

cheaply

Phoneticscheap·ly

US/ˈtʃipɫi/

UK/tʃˈiːpli/

Definition

adv. at a low price or without spending much money. You use this when you buy something for less than the usual cost.

adv. at a low cost or for a small amount of money. Often implies poor quality or lack of value when used in a figurative sense.

Examples

“I bought these shoes very cheaply at the market.”

“The company managed to produce the new parts more cheaply by using recycled materials.”

“While the equipment was acquired cheaply at an auction, the subsequent maintenance costs far exceeded the initial savings.”

Examples

simple

“I bought these shoes very cheaply at the market.”

contextual

“The company managed to produce the new parts more cheaply by using recycled materials.”

complex

“While the equipment was acquired cheaply at an auction, the subsequent maintenance costs far exceeded the initial savings.”

Usage

Typically placed after the verb or the direct object.

Pitfall

I bought it cheaplily

I bought it cheaply

Learners sometimes try to add '-lily' to adjectives ending in 'y', but 'cheaply' is the correct adverbial form.

Etymology

From cheap + -ly.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference