cheapen

324

money than you usually need to spend to do sth fEfc 0 itfe; ffr :        a guide to decorating your house on the

cheap more at life

h adv. [comparative cheap er, no superlative) (informal) for a low price iff      ; fixitfe: I got this dress

cheap in a sale. i&ftAM AMffr

W be .going 'cheap to be offered for sale at a lower price than usual |# ft U ; fft $=) U sth does not come 'cheap something is expensive IpH; XiiEX: Violins like this don’t come cheap.

SYNONYMS mX

cheap

competitive budget affordable reasonable inexpensive

These words all describe a product or service that costs little money or less money than you expected. VX.tfc

cheap costing little money or less money than you expected; charging low prices HOC,

MUi   Cheap can also be used in a disapproving

way to suggest that sth is poor quality as well as low in price. * cheapo of ftUlA,            abottleof

cheap perfume

competitive (of prices, goods or services) as cheap as or cheaper than those offered by other companies; able to offer goods or services at competitive prices

mm.

budget [only before noun] (used especially in advertising) cheap because it offers only a basic level of service (

ISIS

affordable cheap enough for most people to afford

mmm®

reasonable (of prices) not too expensive

n.

Inexpensive {ratherformat) cheap UUU1 Inexpensive is often used to mean that sth is good value for its price. It is sometimes used instead of cheap, because cheap can suggest that sth is poor quality. * inexpensive   M

cheap, cheap

PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS

m cheap/competitive/budget/affordable/reasonable prices/fares/rates

                  cheap/competitive/budget/affordable/inexpensive goods/products/services

                  to be/become/seem/sound cheap/competitive/ affordable/reasonable/inexpensive

                  quite/relatively/extremely/very cheap/competitive/ affordable/reasonable/inexpensive

cheap en /'tjiipan/ verb [VN] 1 to make sb lose respect for himself or herself ^ A fg ; If {ft ET77I degrade : She never cheapened herself by lowering her standards. MAbXIXfftft {ft g 2 to make sth lower in price I^Hft • • • : to cheapen the cost of raw

materials I# # M ^ W ^ ^ 3 to make sth appear to have less value {£ If H; If {ft: The movie was accused of cheapening human life. W AHi:w&£flftl^If; {ft 7 A$J

cheaply o-w /'tjiipii/ adv. without spending or costing much money {igJlifk; f^{/|- M ; {ft tti:       I’m sure I could buy this more cheaply

somewhere else.

^Jpro o a cheaply made moviepP{ftJ&Aft.l^ cheapo /'tjlipau; NAmE -poo/ adj. [only before noun] [informal, disapproving) cheap and often of poor quality

cheap-skate /'tjiipskeit/ noun (informal, disapproving) a person who does not like to spend money /fr H %; 7

Mty

cheat /tjiit/ verb, noun

m verb 1 [VN] to trick sb or make them believe sth which is not true  She is accused of attempting to

cheat the taxman. Many

people feel cheated by the government’s refusal to hold a referendum.

It % ± ft 5S o O He cheated his way into the job. ft ^ !&7j&.{frXfto 2 [V] ~ (at sth) to act in a dishonest way in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game, a competition, an exam, etc. ( jtiafEfflU.        %io£

) ft$X        He cheats at cards. ftaJIWft^,,

o You’re not allowed to look at the answersthat’s cheating.          HP£ft»o 3 [V] ~ (on sb) (of

sb who is married or who has a regular sexual partner E M @ ® 14 ik ft W A) to have a secret sexual relationship with sb else ft ft A ft M '14 A fk ;        ^

AXS (        ) IT»rai cheat 'death (often used in

newspapers      to survive in a situation where

you could have died  IjEMM 'cheat

sb ('out) of sth to prevent sb from having sth, espe­cially in a way that is not honest or fair (

<»Xft They cheated him

out of his share of the profits. ftlhfllJiMfc#!, Xtkft$l# MWUMB’fUtPio O note on next page

m noun {especially BrE) 1 (also cheat-er especially in NAmE) [C] a person who cheats, especially in a game ( jtfeW ’) ft3$#, 3iX: You little cheat! ftjMftti'l

                  [sing] something that seems unfair or dishonest, for

example a way of doing sth with less effort than it usually needs X        ft fr ft: It’s really a cheat,

but you can use ready-made pastry if you want.

                  [C] (computing if) a program you can use to move immediately to the next stage of a computer game without needing to play the game ( % I® Wf [ft )

ft 3$ DC#: There’s a cheat you can use

to get to the next level.   ft of

~rAo

'cheat sheet noun (informal) a set of notes to help you remember important information, especially one taken secretly into an exam room

)ft$&£

check Our /tjek/ verb, noun, exclamation

« verb

                EXAMINE 1 [VN] ~ sth (for sth) to examine sth to see

if it is correct, safe or acceptable       ^

Check the container for cracks or leaks.

0 She gave me the minutes of the meeting to read and check.

(sX <> Check the oil and water before setting off.

0 Check your work before handing it in. gft&IUHtofcteS-Hfto

                MAKE SURE 2 ~ (with sb) to find out if sth is correct or true or if sth is how you think it is Sf BJ]; Srlf; H

#51^: [V (that)] Go and check (that) I’ve locked the windows.        0 [V] ‘Is

Mary in the office?’ ‘Just a moment. I’ll go and check.’ “mm, Scift. V 0 [V wh-] You’d better check with Jane what time she’s expecting us tonight. ftft^|^1ti^^-T^X^^JE^fnWN-|0lo — see also cross-check, double-check

                CONTROL M 3 [VN] to control sth; to stop sth from

increasing or getting worse ]$$!]; fff!]: IS lb :       The

government is determined to check the growth of public spending, gfc Jfr & 4> H & ifel & & £ W *£■&„ 4 [VN] to

stop yourself from saying or doing sth or from showing a particular emotion j&fji!], flpffcl () : to check your angerAaughter/tears          I %! W.M 0

She wanted to tell him the whole truth but she checked herself—it wasn’t the right moment. MAS cfi/f

n, iswftT—

                COATS/BAGS/CASES fe: H f 5 [VN] {NAmE) to leave coats, bags, etc. in an official place (called a check­room) while you are visiting a club, restaurant, etc. # W.; ^ Wt: Do you want to check your coats? ftf] Sc ^

6 [VN] (NAmE) to leave bags or cases with an