What does cheapo mean?
"Cheapo" is an informal term used chiefly as a noun to describe someone who is reluctant to part with their money — a cheapskate or penny-pincher. Calling someone a cheapo is playful or mildly critical rather than harsh; it suggests habitual stinginess, often in everyday matters like tipping, splitting bills, or buying budget goods. The word can also function adjectivally in very casual contexts to describe something cheaply made or of poor quality, as in "a cheapo suitcase." It belongs firmly to colloquial register and would be out of place in formal writing. Formed by attaching the familiar informal suffix "-o" to "cheap," it emerged in twentieth-century American English alongside similar coinages like "weirdo." Related terms include "cheapskate," "tightwad," and "skinflint," which vary slightly in tone and regional preference. Its opposite in spirit is the "spendthrift," someone who spends freely.
A person who is unwilling to spend money; a cheapskate.
"My uncle is such a cheapo that he still uses free calendars from 2005."
Informal and mildly derogatory; lighter in tone than "miser."
(Informal) Cheap, shoddy, or of noticeably low quality.
"The tent came with some cheapo plastic pegs that snapped on the first night."
Very colloquial; more common in speech than writing.
Standard plural, used when referring to multiple stingy people.
"The restaurant's owner put up a sign asking the cheapos to stop dining and dashing."
"Cheapo" was born from one of English's most productive tricks: slapping a casual "-o" onto a word to turn it into a person — the same suffix that gave us weirdo and sicko.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cheapo
"Cheapo" is formed by adding the informal suffix "-o" to "cheap," following a productive pattern of colloquial American English coinages such as "weirdo" and "sicko." It arose in the twentieth century, primarily in American usage. The base word "cheap" traces back to Old English "cēap," meaning trade or purchase, which survives fossilized in place names like Cheapside and in the archaic word "chapman," meaning a pedlar or merchant.
How cheapo is actually used
"Cheapo" is distinctly informal and colloquial, common in casual speech in both American and British English. When applied to a person it carries a teasing or mildly insulting tone, generally lighter than "miser" but less neutral than "frugal." The adjectival use is even more casual and often describes something disappointingly flimsy or low-budget.
Easily confused with cheapo
"Cheap" describes something low in price (or quality), while "cheapo" is an informal noun referring specifically to a stingy person.