Dictionaries are helpful, but in speech we put words in context. If my music stand fall apart, I might say it is a cheap piece of junk. Here,the stand is what's cheap. If I buy a fine guitar for $50, then the guitar was cheap, but it is not a piece of junk. The price, not the guitar, was cheap. ========= One of the problems of English for learners is that we use simple words to mean many things. Take ""get." I get this thread - understand it. I'll get a loaf of bread - obtain it. To get the flu - be infected You're gonna get it! - be punished Get out! - leave and recently, Get out! has come to mean "I don't believe you." ========= As for "gotten", if you are not aware that American speech preserves old forms, then you haven't done much reading about the English language.
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