Definition of "cheapen" [cheap•en]

• To make cheap or cheaper. (verb-transitive)
• To lower in public estimation; debase or degrade: misconduct that cheapened a high office. (verb-transitive)
• To become cheap or cheaper. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "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?"
• "Opponents of the idea say it would "cheapen" the school's brand."
• "If the Treasury continues to ramp up TIPS sales, it will "cheapen" the bonds of existing investors, said Don Martin,"