Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To make cheap or cheaper.
- intransitive verb To lower in public estimation; debase or degrade.
- intransitive verb To become cheap or cheaper.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To ask the price of; chaffer or bargain for.
- To beat down the price of.
- To reduce in price or cost; make cheaper: as, to
cheapen the cost of production; to cheapen the necessaries of life. - To lessen the value of; depreciate or belittle; make too common: as, to
cheapen one's self by being too officious.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolescent To ask the price of; to bid, bargain, or chaffer for.
- transitive verb To beat down the price of; to lessen the value of; to depreciate.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive to
decrease thevalue of; to makecheap - verb transitive to make
vulgar - verb intransitive to become cheaper
- verb obsolete to bargain for, ask the price of.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb lower the grade of something; reduce its worth
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Does our using the word cheapen its value in describing people who have been forced from their communities by war, famine, disease, or natural disaster?
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Opponents of the idea say it would "cheapen" the school's brand.
Bill Gates: 'College, Except For The Parties, Needs To Be Less Place-Based' 2010
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If the Treasury continues to ramp up TIPS sales, it will "cheapen" the bonds of existing investors, said Don Martin,
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It was then considered almost a matter of course that a shopkeeper must be offered less than he asked; and going from shop to shop to "cheapen" the articles they wanted was a common amusement of ladies.
The King's Daughters Emily Sarah Holt 1864
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Blessings in both kinds, such as cheapen tears, --
The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell 1855
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The dollar has also been rising and not yet hampering the rise in commodity prices, the goal was to "cheapen" US goods for export by lowering the dollar.
Economic Outlook for the Week of December 6, 2010 - Seeking Alpha 2010
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At any rate, they have to do something to "cheapen" it or else folks are gonna get ...
CD Freaks News 2009
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At any rate, they have to do something to "cheapen" it or else folks are gonna get ...
CD Freaks News 2009
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At any rate, they have to do something to "cheapen" it or else folks are gonna get ...
CD Freaks News 2009
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GORENJE RK 60355 DW the digitization process could "cheapen" your end product.
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