cheapo

adjective

ˈchē-(ˌ)pō 

informal

: cheap

As for me, I'll be thinking twice next time I'm tempted to grab a cheapo item off the rack at a chain store.

—Tom Philpott

The beer-beach-sand-and-sex crowd, all sordidly captured by cheapo Hollywood movies like "Where the Boys Are" and the excruciating "Spring Break" series, defined this South Florida resort.

—John Mariani

After a while, they come out with the cheapo $39.95 model, no leather, no carrying case, nothing.

—Alexander Besher

Synonyms of cheapo

• cheap
• inexpensive
• reasonable
• affordable

Examples of cheapo in a Sentence

I picked up a cheapo souvenir watch as gag gift.

Recent Examples on the Web

The very top floor seemed to be more for students, offering cheapo meals to undergrads with empty pockets — beans on toast, chips on toast, that sort of thing. —Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2026

Here are the 10 cheapo air trips for 2026, on average, for round-trip economy fares. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026

Ellis is a valuable player on a cheapo contract for at least one more season, making just $2.3 million on the final year of his minimum deal. —John Hollinger, New York Times, 18 June 2025

The attention to design detail translates into the software, which looks unique and is just plain fun to use—rare qualities in a cheapo device. —Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cheapo

• el cheapo

Rhymes for cheapo

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau