COSTING LESS MONEY THAN EXPECTED - Cambridge English Thesaurus article page AI Assistant Dictionary Translate Grammar Thesaurus +Plus Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out {{userName}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out Log in / Sign up English (UK) 1 ? true : false } }), searchAutoComplete.changeToLayoutContainer(); tap:AMP.setState({ stateSearch: { autocomplete: stateSearch.dataset != 'wordlists' && stateSearch.term.length 1 } })" / Thesaurus 1) ? '/autocomplete/amp?dataset=' + stateSearch.dataset + '&q=' + stateSearch.term : 'https://'" 0 && stateHdr.searchDesk ? 'pa pdd chac-sb tc-bd bw hbr-20 hbss lpt-25' : 'hdn'" {{word}} {{#beta}} Beta{{/beta}} {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{^selected}} {{name}} {{/selected}} {{/preferredDictionaries}} Thesaurus article: costing less money than expected costing less money than expected These words all refer to something that costs less money than you expected. The most common word is cheap. The meal was cheaper than I expected. That's cheap for a holiday package. The opposite of cheap is expensive. He wore an expensive watch. For more opposites of cheap, see the article at expensive. If something is cheap enough for most people to be able to buy, you can say that it is affordable, inexpensive, or reasonable. There's very little affordable housing around here. They sell inexpensive children's clothes. I thought the food was very reasonable. If something is very cheap, you can say informally that it is dirt cheap. Most of the books they sell are dirt cheap. Cut-price or cut-rate is sometimes used to describe something that is cheaper than usual. Cut-price is more common in UK English, and cut-rate is more common in US English. Travellers can search the internet for cut-price airfares. We managed to get cut-rate tickets the day before the show. A piece of equipment that is cheap to use is often described as economical. I need a car that's reliable and economical. Budget can be used before a noun to describe things that are suitable for people who do not have a lot of money to spend. We stayed in a budget hotel. You say that the price of something is low. The company sells its products at a low price. For words having to do with the amount of money that something is being sold for, see the article at cost. Related articles something that is cheap Browse completely different continuing for a large amount of time continuing for less time than usual costing a lot of money costing less money than expected damage to the body deceiving others and not telling the truth decorations or a decoration different {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}} Word of the Day comfort zone UK Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio /ˈkʌm.fət ˌzəʊn/ US Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio /ˈkʌm.fɚt ˌzoʊn/ a situation in which you feel comfortable and in which your ability and determination are not being tested About this Blog Hitting the nail on the head: idioms with ‘hit’ July 22, 2026 Read More has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents costing less money than expected something that is cheap AI Assistant Facebook Instagram X © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2026 Learn Learn Learn New Words Help In Print Word of the Year 2021 Word of the Year 2022 Word of the Year 2023 Word of the Year 2024 Word of the Year 2025 Develop Develop Develop Dictionary API Double-Click Lookup Search Widgets License Data About About About Accessibility Cambridge English Cambridge University Press & Assessment Consent Management Cookies and Privacy Corpus Terms of Use AI Terms of Use Facebook Instagram X © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2026 {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Learn more with +Plus Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Learn more with +Plus Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. 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Sign up or Log in My word lists Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}} {{message}} {{/message}} {{^message}} Something went wrong. {{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} 5 && !stateSidebarWordList.expended) ? 195 : (stateSidebarWordListItems.length * 39)" [src]="stateSidebarWordListItems" {{name}} 5 && !stateSidebarWordList.expended) ? 'hao hp lmt-25' : 'hdn'" More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}} {{message}} {{/message}} {{^message}} Something went wrong. {{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! 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